LAKELAND, Fla. (WWSB/Gray News) – A girl is going through animal cruelty fees for allegedly poisoning her neighbor’s pets.
Detectives from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Agricultural Crimes Unit arrested and charged 51-year-old Tamesha Knighten with three counts of felony animal cruelty and one depend depositing poison in a public space.
Investigators recognized Knighten as a licensed practical nurse working for United Health Care at Wellmed in Lakeland. They say she purposely poisoned her neighbors’ two cats and pregnant Chihuahua, killing all three pets and the eight puppies within the canine’s womb.
The investigation started in August when the couple’s two cats, Luna and Pancake, died inside hours of one another. Both exhibited signs that included choking, problem respiration, foaming from the mouth and vital ache.
Approximately 4 hours later, the couple couldn’t discover their pregnant Chihuahua named Daisy. They started trying round the home for her and later discovered Daisy deceased, alongside along with her puppies that have been nonetheless in her womb.
During the investigation, the victims instructed detectives that Knighten had repeatedly threatened to poison their dogs and cats if the pets got here into her yard.
On the day the pets died, they allegedly observed Knighten pacing in her yard alongside their shared fence line.
Knighten additionally allegedly yelled on the victims’ youngsters that day whereas they have been exterior taking part in. The victims requested her to not yell at their children.
The couple instructed investigators Knighten was exterior once they observed their cat appearing unusually within the yard and foaming on the mouth. Knighten apparently mentioned the cat should be choking on a frog.
Knighten instructed detectives throughout an interview that she placed ant bait exterior on the bottom round her air con unit as a result of ants have been entering into it.
When they seemed within the victims’ yard, they discovered a white plastic foam bowl on the bottom containing a white meaty substance combined with a dark-colored materials. Knighten claimed to not personal any white foam bowls, however detectives discovered a package deal of them in her pantry, at which level she mentioned, “Oh, I guess I do have them.”
Knighten additionally had canned hen in her pantry after denying that she had any.
Detectives famous there have been video cameras in Knighten’s yard. They requested to see the video from that day, which confirmed her carrying a blue glove and holding a white foam bowl containing the substance.
In the video she’s additionally seen speaking to a relative and pointing on the neighbor’s yard.
Knighten instructed investigators that she didn’t know what was within the bowl or why she was holding it. She additionally mentioned she was selecting up papers in her yard when requested why she was carrying the glove, however there have been no papers to be discovered when detectives seemed in her trash can.
When investigators requested what the combination within the bowl was, Knighten mentioned it was her “special seasoning” that she put exterior to “feed animals in the area.”
Samples from the bowl of hen and Knighten’s “special seasoning,” the pets’ tissues taken throughout their necropsies and the ant bait have been despatched to the University of Florida and analyzed by the college’s veterinary pathology division, in addition to to labs at Texas A&M University and Michigan State University.
The chemical evaluation confirmed that the pets had ingested phorate, a pesticide present in pesticides. It matched the pattern from the laced-canned hen within the bowl.
Doctors mentioned phorate would have induced the animals to undergo.
The ant bait was not current in any of the animals.
“This suspect, despite all evidence to the contrary, repeatedly denied killing her neighbor’s pets, even telling our detectives that she’s a nurse and had too much to lose,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd mentioned. “Well guess what? These people lost their beloved pets in a most horrific way and she lost her freedom by going to jail. It takes a cold-hearted person to poison and kill two cats and a pregnant dog. It’s hard to imagine how a person in the medical field could do such a thing.”
Knighten was booked into the Polk County Jail.
Copyright 2024 WWSB by way of Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
