Accused cat killer pleads innocent

MIAMI, July 7 (UPI) -- Accused cat killer Tyler Weinman was seen late at night where dead cats were found and talked eagerly of dissecting cats, Miami-Dade, Fla., police said.

Weinman, 18, pleaded not guilty Monday in Circuit Court to torturing and killing 19 cats in South Miami-Dade, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

In an arrest affidavit released at the hearing, police said Weinman in interviews with them detailed how to dissect cats, even describing the ''tearing sound'' made when cutting cat flesh, the Herald reported.

Weinman was arrested last month after 19 cats were found mutilated from late April to early June, many of them placed in poses on their owners' lawns. He is on house arrest on a $249,500 bond.

Prosecutors are awaiting forensic results on cutting tools taken from the homes of Weinman's parents, who are divorced and live in the area where the cat killings occurred, Miami-Dade prosecutor Elijah Levitt said.

Weinman several times was seen late at night in areas where dead cats were found hours later and he had deep scratches down his back and neck when he was arrested, Levitt said.

Weinman told police the scratches occurred when he was feeding a stray cat at this mother's house.