New York police have finally captured Monique Smith, 19, after a nine-month search in the murder of Sweetie. The victim was a hamster. Smith’s alleged crime began with the untimely death of another hamster, Princess Stephanie.
Theresa Smith, 47, lives with 10 of her 12 children and had bought Princess Stephanie for her nine-year-old son. Princess Stephanie, however, died after Smith’s twenty-five-year son kicked a exercise ball with Princess inside across the room in anger. The hamster flew out and died.
However, the appearance of the replacement hamsters now threw Monique Smith into a rage and she picked up Sweetie and allegedly choked the four-ounce critter and slammed it to the floor — killing Sweetie. A necropsy confirmed that Sweetie “died of blunt force trauma and liver damage.”
Law enforcement agents from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals tracked down Monique Smith, 19, with the tenacity of a Cricetinae.
She could now receive up to two years in prison for aggravated cruelty to animals.
Source: New York Times
When I was a kid in the previous century, we had a hamster named Phineas T. Bluster. Phineas escaped, and now, approximately 180 generations later, giant hamsterzillas are roaming the countryside and wreaking havoc all over Southeastern Wisconsin. I believe Phineas’ first wife was also named “Sweetie”.
That family has some serious problems, a dozen kids is one of them IMO. Some group therapy should go along with whatever sentence is handed out.
I never had hamsters, but my wife and I did have a pet Guinea pig that died in her hands. I can’t imagine someone taking a hamster and intentionally killing it. I hope she gets a sentence long enough to make her think about her cruel actions.
We have several hamsters buried in the backyard … all were named Fred and Barney … I finally stopped replacing them when Fred IV ate half of Barney V’s leg … they all had lovely funerals and crosses made from Popsicle sticks.
If Mom had replaced the first dead hamster with a pit bull, it would have been at least a fair fight.
Kill a hamster, get 2 years.
Kill half the gulf of Mexico, get fined a day’s worth of profits.
Start a war for profit, roam free.
Something is a little off here…
I don’t see how JT can bare being associated with this ‘system’
I had a hamster named “Choo Choo” once, but had to give it to my neighbor’s kids because my cat kept trying to eat it. Well, the neighbors didn’t take very good care of it – they left Choo Choo’s Habitrail cage open and poor Choo Choo got into the clothes dryer. We had a nice service for him.
I am all for good treatment to animals/pets and loved one…..when we treat People with the same due intelligence that was done here then we will be evolving greater than the mass than they occupy…
We just had a case in Minnesota of a drunk driver that murdered a person with his car. The sentence was 300 days in jail, to be served in 30 day stretches. Perhaps if Monique claims she was drunk at the time she could get a reduced sentence like that.