Woman accused of tossing kitten

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A trial date of Oct. 13 has been set for a New Orleans woman accused of tossing a kitten out the window of her Chevy Blazer in July.

Kellie Lynn Dean, known as the neighborhood cat woman, was arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty after a witness identified her as the driver of the vehicle, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Wednesday.

Dean pleaded innocent to the charge Tuesday and asked the judge to assign a public defender.

Seven friends have written letters to the court detailing Dean's longstanding love for animals.

A neighbor at the trailer park where Dean lives speculated the kitten in question may have crawled under Dean's vehicle to flee the rain and jumped off after the Blazer accelerated.

The kitten was never found, dead or alive, the newspaper said.

Audrey Darlene King said neighborhood residents beat the hoods of their vehicles to warn stray cats that may be hiding underneath.