LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
A Las Vegas resident is claiming animal cruelty after she witnessed teens drown two kittens. A new law passed last year could make any penalty the two might face much stiffer.
It happened in a neighborhood near Cheyenne Avenue and Cimarron Road. A feral cat ended up in a woman's backyard. A few days later, the woman, who only wished to be identified as "Chris," witnessed something she said still keeps her up at night.
"I have the vision in my head. I will never get rid of it," Chris said.
Chris took a picture of a dead kitten beside a cup of water. Another kitten, she said, was inside the cup. Both were drowned.
"There were two boys - teenagers, standing over the dead one and the one that was dead inside the cup," she said. "They were holding it down."
Chris said she's received threats from the teens. The ordeal started when the cat that came to her home gave birth to the kittens. While cleaning her pool, Chris heard the kittens screaming on the other side of the wall that divides her property.
"If I could've crawled over the wall that is like eight to 10 feet (high), I would probably be in jail because you cannot do that to an animal," she said.
Las Vegas Animal Control filed a report on the incident and a city representative told FOX5 the agency is investigating.
If prosecuted, it could be a landmark case - the first under Cooney's Law, which was passed one year ago. The law makes the killing of animals such as dogs and cats a felony in Nevada.
Gina Greisen with Nevada Voters for Animals helped to get the law passed.
"This is how Jeffrey Dahmer started out. This is how Ted Bundy started out. This is how serial killers start out," Greisen said.
"Nobody's safe with (people) like this on the street," said Chris. "Nobody's safe. It's kittens now. What is it next?"
No charges have yet been filed. Chris said that after 12 years living at the house, she now wants to move away.
Before Cooney's Law was passed, a person could be convicted of animal cruelty three times in seven years before it was considered a felony.
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"Chris" said a kitten was drowned beside a cup of water and another was inside it.
The teens "Chris" claims killed the kittens.
