Normally I’m not a huge fan of all capitals, but I felt that this information warranted it. There is a suspect in the Palmetto Bay/Cutler Bay Serial Cat Killer Case! Of course this happened several days ago, and I missed it.
First: the Miami Herald, which has been the best source on this story, put together a Google Map of the locations that the cats have been found (there were 18 confirmed cases, although there have been more unconfirmed deaths and disappearances) so all you amateur forensic geographers should get out your compasses and protractors and click here. They used to have the street addresses of the locations listed, but I’m thinking someone might have realized that could be a bad idea, and now each point is only labeled by the number of the order in which they were found. (That’s a terrible sentence but I can’t figure out how else to say it.) Anyone who doubts the validity of forensic geography should also head over there and check out those clusters.
And now, on to the suspect. A lot of people are probably going to see his picture and be surprised; I’m really not. Remember people, if he looked like a cat killer he would have been arrested much earlier. He looks pretty normal. So, cue the chorus of “I-just-can’t-believe-it-he-was-such-a-nice-boy”, sung in rounds, Row Row Row Your Boat-style. Without further ado, here are a few things that struck me from the Miami Herald article announcing the capture:
Tyler Hayes Weinman, whose divorced parents live in Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay, where the horrific cat killings occurred, faces 19 counts of animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary.
Weinman, who recently attended Miami Palmetto Senior High, was led away from a Coral Gables house party minutes after midnight Sunday by undercover officer who had him under surveillance for weeks. He barely spoke a word, police said.
Okay, let me get this straight. You had this guy under surveillance? For weeks? Are you kidding me? Does anyone else notice what’s odd about that statement? Like the fact that there have been more killings in the last few weeks? What did they do, give the officers nights off? And if they were surveilling him at night, shouldn’t they have seen SOMETHING? “Well, Bob, you know, just because we see him leaving one mutilated cat on someone’s lawn doesn’t make him the serial cat killer.”
The teen knew well the streets he targeted. Weinman’s father, Douglas, is a dentist. His mother is a life coach and lives in Whispering Pines, a community where the killings began.
His parents could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Oooh, that is NOT going to be good for the ‘life-coaching’ business. “The cobbler’s children have no shoes,” as I am fond of saying. The children of people in the mental health field are stereotypically all nuts (we are, trust me), but I draw the line at mutilating cats. “The life-coach’s son was a serial cat mutilator” kind of goes beyond that whole irony thing. I’m not saying that it’s going to help his Dad’s dental practice either, but life coach . . . yeesh.
He had been questioned by police the night of the Palmetto High prom.
“A Night to Remember” indeed!
Court records show that Weinman was also arrested May 29 for possession of cannabis.
Cue the anti-drug commercials! Marijuana causes cat mutilations! It’s even better than that “Pot causes pregnancy” ad they were running a few years back!
Psychiatrists expected police to arrest a quiet, violent and reserved individual.
But the outgoing Swim Gym Aquatic Summer Camp counselor was loving with friends’ animals and known for his comedic classroom antics.
Outgoing? Counselor? I have two words for you: Ted Bundy. Clowning around? Three more: John Wayne Gacy.
For more than a month, gutted cats with crushed skulls appeared on owners’ lawns in Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay. In most cases there was no blood near the carcass, leading some to believe they were killed elsewhere then dumped.
Not to be rude here, but “DUH”. Did anyone seriously think he was doing all this stuff on the front lawn and no one heard him or saw him? 18 times? I didn’t really need to hear any blood-spatter reports to figure that out.
In the days before his arrest, someone fitting Weinman’s situation had been mentioned by several area residents who attended a community meeting. They spoke of a teen who lived between his parents’ homes in both towns, allowing him to attack cats in both neighborhoods.
Weinman’s parents divorced in 2006, according to county civil records. And the single child lived in both towns.
In early May, at least four cats were mutilated just down the street from his mother’s Ridgeland Drive home. The northernmost killings occurred west of his father’s home, where two stickers are plastered on windows near the front door by obvious cat lovers.
”In case of fire, please rescue cat,” one reads.
Again, I say to you: forensic geography.
Kathy Hernandez, who has known Weinman since he attended Southwood Middle School, described him as a caring and sweet boy who often played with his dog. He was the class clown when they took Biology together in the ninth grade.
”I don’t think they have the right person,” she wrote in an e-mail. “It does not at all seem like he would do something like this. He was a great kid.”
Hernandez said Weinman had a healthy relationship with his stepmother — who married his father last year and who neighbors described as an avid cat-lover.
”He was always so nice to my animals,” Hernandez wrote. “I have three cats and they loved him.”
Okay, before we get too confused, this actually makes a lot of sense. If cats didn’t like him, how did he catch them or lure them away? I doubt he was able to set up physical traps for them and leave them long enough for cats to come along. And if he had a hard time with a bunch of outdoor cats he’d be covered in scratches, right? I suppose he could have drugged them, but I just don’t see how he would have had enough time to leave something for them to ingest and then . . . what, follow them around until it took effect? He might have drugged them when he caught them, but it’s not a particularly efficient way of catching them in the first place.
Okay, something just occurred to me. His Dad is a dentist. Bear with me here: remember the episode of the X Files (Unruhe) with the guy who was performing ice-pick lobotomies? And his Dad had been a dentist? And he was injecting the victims with one of those drugs they use to knock you out? I’m just saying . . . how much access did this kid have to his Dad’s office? Just a thought. Pure speculation. End of tangent.
One more thing. That “sweet boy who often played with his dog” line . . . why does that sound so familiar? Oh, that’s right:
“My sister is no cat killer,” said David Cherry. “Cheyenne is not an animal hater. She has a little Yorkie that she loves.”
Yep, the girl in Brooklyn that cooked the cat. Over at Huffington Post there was this quote:
Experts say cruelty toward cats, as opposed to other animals, can fulfill a deeper need for control. Cats, unlike dogs, can be more difficult to control. They don’t come when they’re called and are often more independent, said Dr. Randall Lockwood of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and author of “Forensic Investigation of Animal Cruelty.”
Interesting. But back to this guy:
On Sunday, the Facebook page of Weinman’s girlfriend, Vanessa Contesse, 18, was filled with comments from her friends declaring their supporting for her claim that Weinman is innocent until proven guilty.
”hey val..i just heard. sorry about all of this. we all love you!” stated one comment.
Others wrote to Contesse saying they didn’t believe the charges against him.
”Palmetto Bay was just lookin for anyone to point their finger to,” stated another person.
Some friends even started a Facebook group called ”Justice for Tyler,” which seeks to clear his name.
How original! A Facebook group proclaiming his innocence! Brilliant! Oh, and yeah, so he has a girlfriend. Another thing that will ’surprise’ people. But you know, looking back, I would not be particularly shocked to find out that my high school boyfriend had been killing small animals. And he seemed like such a nice boy. I never would have believed it at the time, but give the girl a few years and things might start making more sense.
Of course all this assumes that the police have the right guy. And so far they’ve been very tight-lipped about what evidence they have that links him to the crimes, which seems a bit odd. There’s too much of this story for me to cover it extensively and up-to-the-minute, so I recommend going to the Miami Herald or searching his name at Google News for updates and video. Because guess what? He’s out on bond. Personally, I find that to be the most shocking aspect of this story.
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Posted by Violet Crime
Tags: animal cruelty, Cutler Bay, Florida, Palmetto Bay, Tyler Hayes Weinman
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HINGHAM, Mass. – A 6-year-old girl fled an apartment wearing leg shackles after her friend’s father lured her with a promise to show her some pet gerbils, then bound her with tape and chains, injected her with an unknown substance and tried to rape her, authorities said Monday.
