This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Layton man has been charged with allegedly trying to kill a cat belonging to his girlfriend's daughter.
The 30-year-old was charged Wednesday in 2nd District Court with torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
Police allege that on May 4, the man took the cat from under the daughter's bed and tried to squeeze its neck until it couldn't breathe. The man then placed the cat on the bed and pressed down on its stomach and threw it against the wall, trying to kill it, the charges add.
There had been some discord in the house where the man lived with his girlfriend and her daughter, and he blamed the problems on the cat, said Layton police Sgt. James Petre.
The daughter, who suspected that "something was happening" to the cat, set up a hidden camera in her room to find out what was going on, Petre said.
She later turned the footage over to the police.
mmcfall@sltrib.comTwitter: @mikeypanda