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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 20330
[Legal]
Date Posted:
1/21/2009
4:45:22 pm EST
Wvox Stats
Views: 3,185
RSS: 13,609
Comments: 17
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Woman Testifies Neighbor Whipped Cat To Death
Author: Kristen Senz Source: Manchester Union Leader (NH)
Title: WOMAN TESTIFIES NEIGHBOR WHIPPED CAT TO DEATH
Vanilla-Clove Moonstone wept on the witness stand yesterday as she described seeing her former neighbor whip her cat, Buddha, to the brink of death with a white cord in summer 2007.
Bruce Robie, 41, of Claremont, is standing trial on a charge of felony cruelty to animals for the alleged beating of Buddha outside his former residence on the first floor of the apartment building at 24 High St. in Claremont.
Moonstone and her 13-year-old son, Daniel Tyminski, testified yesterday they saw a shirtless Robie whipping a cat from their second-floor window. The cat was euthanized later that night, and an autopsy showed it died as the result of "severe trauma," according to witness testimony.
Before the trial began in Sullivan County Superior Court yesterday, Judge John Arnold ruled the defense could not introduce evidence that Moonstone practices witchcraft because her beliefs are irrelevant to her credibility as a witness.
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Community Thoughts: There are 17 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| A Missed Point | Jan 24th. at 12:45:34 pm EST
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Electric Fox (San Jose, California) - Email Me
Law enforcement agencys seriously pursue cases of animal death from physical abuse because it's not that big a jump from torturing and killing an animal to torturing and killing people. In fact, when examining the backgrounds of serial killers, one will notice that most of them began by abusing animals to death. I'm not saying that this shmoe was destined to follow that path, but this is serious business.
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| Update - He Was Found Guilty | Jan 23rd. at 11:44:50 am EST
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WyndWoman (Contoocook, New Hampshire) - Email Me
This story has a few more details, but I'm still left wondering a bit.
Find More info -- HERE
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| How Did He Accomplish It? | Jan 23rd. at 10:59:17 am EST
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WyndWoman (Contoocook, New Hampshire) - Email Me
This article is so short on details it makes my brain ache.
What kind of trauma? Who testified about the trauma? What does "white cord" mean? What does the poo have to do with anything? Was it so near the cat that you can presume that it was released due to trauma?
I'm sorry this lady lost her kitty, but frankly I'm not convinced by this article that the neighbor is to blame.
Has it occurred to anyone else that it would be mighty hard to beat a healthy cat (nearly) to death with just a cord? Picture this. The cat is sitting on your porch, uninjured. You swing the white cord that you just happen to have in your hand toward the cat. Even if it's a solid electrical cord, how are you going to land one blow hard enough to prevent the cat from immediately jumping up and taking off? Most cats would run before the blow even makes contact.
Assomeone else said, clearly the reason for the article was to sensationalize the witchcraft angle, rather than present the facts. The facts are scanty, and If the judge did not allow the witchcraft "evidence" why does the reporter feel it's relevant?
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| I Too Have Lost A Familiar And This Sorrows Me... | Jan 22nd. at 4:23:09 pm EST
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Goldie Rootwalker (Vancouver, Washington) - Email Me
I am SO sorry about this cat. No living creature should perish in such a horrific way. A Witch's cat is a sacred animal and thusly this man has not only committed murder but also desecrated a sacred living icon. Much as if to burger-fye a Hindu cow. What would happen to he who harmed that animal then? Taking this to court is good and bad. For obvious reasons one must, in the country where law and justice is honoured, prove that this man did this terrible act. But also, any conversation regarding a Witch is something that, good or bad, is open communication regarding an otherwise quiet and mysterious religion. I have lighted a candle and chanted my prayer and I have cried many tears for this cat and the cat's people. There is a special place for those who have been loved. A Witch's familiar is far atop the pinnacle of the peak of that which is the treasure for each behind the veil.
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| I'm With Whitewolf On This One... | Jan 22nd. at 3:14:35 pm EST
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Artemis (Denver Metro, Colorado) - Email Me
May Bastet, Sekhmet, and any and all other Gods and Goddesses rain down justice on the one who beat that poor cat.
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| Poor Cat | Jan 22nd. at 11:09:42 am EST
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Artio SD (Kimball, South Dakota) - Email Me
I hope the guy gets what is coming to him. And as for the woman's name if its her craft name at least she got to choose it if its not well she fits in a long line of others who's parents think there funny. My grand mother went to school with Ima Hogg, and I went to school with Autmun Breeze. I have met a young man with a "naughty" name. I would post it but I would probally get in trouble.
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| I HOPE.... | Jan 22nd. at 7:23:13 am EST
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Whitewolf (Schenectady, New York) - Email Me
( and I KNOW I shouldn't be this way.... ) that The Goddess Bast GETS this guy in the end. There is NO, and I mean NO - reason to do this to a defenseless feline. May Bastet show him more mercy then he showed the poor cat....
Love to all
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| Too Little Info.......... | Jan 22nd. at 6:57:56 am EST
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Jedi Gordy (Edinboro, Pennsylvania) - Email Me
Who placed the cat on the porch of the defendant? Was the cat pretty much dead because of the car accident? If she has a LOT of cats, there is every reason to suspect that she lets them roam feral, thus increasing their chances to be hit accidentally. The necropsy could have pointed towards a car accidently running over the poor thing. Maybe she told her son to say that (they were having a neighborly blood feud, after all) to get the neighbor into trouble. Like I said, at the end of the day NO ONE should be judging one way or the other for either the defendant or the accuser, for it could be true, but it could be a minor league case that was much like the Duke rape case, remember that?
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| If It Was Me | Jan 22nd. at 2:25:18 am EST
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Anunitu (Belvidere, New Jersey) - Email Me
that saw this person beating this cat, it wouldn't have been him in court, it would have been me, for shooting him. I consider a cats life as important as a humans, and would do the same thing as if he was doing this to a human.
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| ... | Jan 22nd. at 12:58:50 am EST
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Evermind (Miller Place, New York) - Email Me
Look, it doesn't matter if she was called Pinky McDoodlepuff-Zebooshkabibble, Faery Empress of the Known Universe. An animal being cruelly slaughtered is serious regardless of the owner's name.
Besides, perhaps due to the reporter's apparent inability to report, we don't know if her name is her Craft name and not her legal name, or if she changed her name legally, or even if she just had parents who got a bit creative. I know someone whose first name is Asparagus, after all.
Kudos to the judge for slapping the lawyer down when he tried to bring her religion into it.
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| Craft Or Given Name? | Jan 21st. at 10:33:22 pm EST
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Aisling Kelledia (Dallas-Ft.Worth area, Texas) - Email Me
This article never said the main witness was using a Craft name and not her own given one. I have a niece with the most amazingly classic "hippie name", who is very well respected in her community.
Every case is "he said-she said"; it's called litigation. Cases are won or lost on the credibility and believability of witnesses. The sincerity of both the mom and son seem to show through in this article. On the flip side, the defendent and fellow witness seem deceptive and unconcerned over the seriousness of the incident; that doesn't usually present well to a judge or jury.
Here's hoping justice is done, for all.
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| I Agree With A Comment Already Given. | Jan 21st. at 8:22:33 pm EST
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Avagdu (Independence, Missouri) - Email Me
If you're in a legal matter, use your given name, not your craft name. If it can be used against you, it will.
If using your religion because it may reduce or disqualify your testimony, it will be done.
No, I don't think it's right but being right is neither here nor there. They're out to win a law suit, for most, no matter what the cost.
It's a given, most people do not understand Paganism or Wicca, nor do most have any inclination to learn. Using ones craft name can and unfortunately will be used against the person.
It's a shame this happened...period.
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| A Rose By Any Other Name... | Jan 21st. at 7:21:37 pm EST
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
I hope the neighbor and his lawyer both get cat crap all over his yard-or on his front step every day from now on. And may all the cats of the neighborhood use their doors as a scratch post. Not only for the cruel treatment of the cat, but for dissing the poor owner because of her beliefs- all because of her chosen name. Whatever her beliefs are, have little to do with the fact that she saw someone cruelly beating on her beloved pet.
As for ridiculous sounding names, Pagans don't corner the market by a long shot. there are quite a few people in the United States alone that have strange and absurd names of all sorts, and it might be possible to go through any phone book and encounter at least two or three. I used to know a very nice family that had the unfortunate last name of "Schitt". Try calling that in a courtroom with a straight face.
I'm glad the judge had a bit more sense. What she saw has nothing to do with her beliefs, her name-or her credibility on a witness stand.
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| I Feel For This Woman...but... | Jan 21st. at 7:03:23 pm EST
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Valerya (Greensboro/Stokesdale, North Carolina) - Email Me
As infuriating and gross as this case is, I have to agree with Lokari - calling yourself Vanilla-Clove Moonstone does not encourage anyone to take you seriously. Nor does it help that this woman isn't sure of how many cats she has. Now, given the genuine lousiness of this article, it is entirely possible that the newspaper "correspondent" did not bother with taking note of that line of questioning, and botched that as badly as she botched everything else.
I'm glad the judge ruled against allowing the sleazy lawyer from playing up the Witchcraft angle, but I think it's very clear from the exceptionally poor manner in which this article was written that the reporter and/or the editor of this paper was/were far more interested in sensationalizing this than giving the appropriate weight to an animal's cruel death. I don't think the police force took it very seriously, either. The cop accidentally deleted the evidence photos from his camera? PUH-LEEZE! If I'd been the prosecuting attorney, I would have been all over that. Deleting evidence? How often does that happen? What are the ramifications in regards to this moron's job? Has he been disciplined for that?
As for the cat's cause of death, who was the witness who testified to this? The reporter didn't bother to give any name or ID that person in any way. Was it the vet who performed the necropsy? Was it the vet's receptionist? The mailman?
I write for a newspaper, and I can tell you that my editor would have had my ass for lunch, slow-roasted, with a piquant au jus, and risotto on the side if I'd turned in anything even 1/100th as lousy as this one.
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| Sleazy Lawyer | Jan 21st. at 5:46:28 pm EST
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Paleo Wolfenheart (Houston, Texas) - Email Me
I don't think there is enough in this article to say for sure if the poor cat was killed maliciously or not, so I'll withhold judgement on the man being charged...but cripes what a sleazy lawyer he has!
"Your honor, I think there's a vast difference between Christianity and witchcraft," Hulser argued before the ruling. "This goes to credibility."
Wow, that's pretty darn scary that he attempted to bring up her spiritual beliefs to discredit her. I'm glad that wasn't allowed.
And is *this* what passes for examination these days?
"Ms. Moonstone, I don't mean to be insensitive," public defender Michael Hulser said on cross-examination, "but your cat got run over, didn't it?"
"No, it did not," Moonstone said.
"Shame on you! Mr. Robie didn't beat your cat, did he?"
"I watched him do it," she said.
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