JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – After a police investigation and offers of private rewards, a suspect has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals after the alleged torture and killing of a cat in April.
According to an arrest report by Johnson City Police Department, investigators were searching for the driver of a truck that was seen in the area where the cat’s body was found.
According to the report, the cat’s body was found in front of the Appalachian Funeral Home around 1 p.m. on April 18, 2021. Investigators say the cat’s paws were bound with duct tape and that it had suffered several stab wounds and beatings as well as head trauma.
Investigators found a bloody screwdriver in the area, as well as bloody tire tracks indicating that the body had been run over.
In response to the case, PETA offered a $5,000 dollar reward to anyone with information that would lead to the discovery of the killer.
“This cat should have been safe indoors with a loving family and instead endured a terrifying and agonizing death at the hands of someone who must be caught before hurting anyone else,” PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien said in a release earlier in 2021. “PETA urges anyone with information to come forward—and possibly save a life.”
According to the arrest report, investigators identified Deamion R. Davis, 19, 1404 Baxter St., Johnson City, as a person of interest in the case before the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Lab identified forensic evidence that “led investigators to charging Davis.”
Davis is currently being held in the Washington County Detention Center on a $10,000 bond. Davis’s arraignment is set for October 20 at 10 a.m. in Washington County General Sessions Court.
