Burglars Murder Kittens to Terrify Disabled Woman

Two men walked out of the afternoon glare and into the home of a disabled woman and murdered her kittens in front of her before ransacking the house and taking a safe. The men also reportedly threw the woman to the ground, sliced her up with broken shards glass, and sprayed paint on her. 

The terrifying ordeal went down Thursday around 2 p.m. in Deerfield Beach, where three men approached the woman's home, in the area of SW 46th Avenue. One of the men stood watch while the other two went into the house through a sliding glass door, according to a report by the Broward Sheriff's Office.

The men, dressed in dark hooded sweatshirts and Halloween masks, ran up on the 61-year-old woman and began demanding she hand over credit cards and jewelry. The woman insisted she didn't have much. The men then began to threaten to kill her pets if she didn't hand over her valuables. 

To show they meant business, the men took two her kittens outside, killed them, and stuffed them inside paper bags, all while she watched.

The woman, who suffers from a debilitating illness that forces her to use a walker, was grabbed and thrown down. She hit a table as she hit the floor. As she lay helpless on the ground, the men began ransacking her home and found a small safe.

Before leaving the home, the men took a broken shard of glass and sliced the woman's face, arm, and stomach area. They then sprayed paint on her as she lay on the floor. 

The men left the home carrying the safe and the bags with the dead kittens, the report says.

The safe apparently contained only medication.

According to BSO, one of the suspects is described as a short, white male who spoke proper English. He wore a dark-blue hooded sweatshirt. The second, a taller man who spoke with a Spanish accent, wore a black hooded sweatshirt. The third was not described in the report. Police believe the men to be in their late teens or early 20s.

BSO spokesperson Dani Moschella tells New Times that officers are asking for assistance from the neighborhood. "They're going to hand out Crime Stoppers fliers this afternoon in the neighborhood and surrounding shopping centers," Moschella says.

The victim, meanwhile, was treated for superficial cuts and bruises. She went for further treatment to North Broward Health Medical Center on Friday. 

BSO detectives are asking anyone knows anything about the crime to call Det. Vincent Coldwell at 954-321-4270 or report information anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or online.

Crime Stoppers will pay up to $3,000 for an anonymous tip that leads to an arrest.