In a deeply disturbing case, a former animal shelter worker in Weatherford, Texas, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for brutally torturing and killing kittens in his care, according to CBS News.
On March 18, Gabriel Skyler Caswell was sentenced to 10 years for 12 counts of animal cruelty, to be served in addition to the 30 years he received last year for related offenses, for a total of 40 years in prison.
The abuse came to light in 2023 after a coworker witnessed him hurting a kitten, which led to a thorough review of the shelter’s surveillance footage. What was found was nothing short of horrifying.
According to CBS News, Caswell was seen “stomping on kittens, smashing their heads and necks, and throwing them against walls.” He was also shown dumping dead kittens in the trash.
“In my nearly 30 years as a prosecutor, I have seen some horrific things,” Parker County District Attorney Jeff Swain said. “However, I have never actually witnessed on video this particular kind of cruelty.”
The cruelty was so distressing that prosecutors couldn’t even show all of the footage of the 15 kittens he tortured because they felt it would be too much for the jury to endure.
Caswell was fired and arrested in July of 2023. Since he was hired in February 2023, the shelter saw 80 kitten deaths — 50 in June alone, according to Sgt. Tiffany Vanzant. Shelter officials stated that it averaged 20 kitten deaths a year.
“To stare into the eyes of an innocent kitten while you literally snuff the life out of them like this defendant did takes a really sick and twisted person,” Swain said.
Trapped in cages with no way to escape, these tiny kittens were thrown, beaten, and discarded as if they were objects — by someone who was entrusted to care for them. No animal deserves this type of cruelty.
Lady Freethinker is grateful to the authorities who pursued justice in this heartbreaking case, and we will continue to help protect and give voice to animals around the globe.
