Howell Cat-Killer Gets Prison Term

FREEHOLD, NJ — A Howell man has been sentenced to four years and six months in state prison for intentionally killing his pet cat named Lilith last year, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.

Christopher Sanchez, 29, was sentenced by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Scott C. Arnette.

Arnette also banned Sanchez from ever owning or living in a home with a pet or other animal.

Sanchez has been in the Monmouth County Jail since his arrest in the incident.

Howell police found the cat's body outside of Sanchez's home when they went there March 31, 2023, on an unrelated matter. Sanchez claimed he killed her with a sharp object after she was mortally wounded by being hit by a car, but a necropsy disproved that story.

Howell police and the Humane Law Enforcement Division of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals conducted an investigation, determining that Sanchez used a sharp instrument to kill the cat two days earlier, recording photos and video footage of the act.

Sanchez was arrested on the same day as the initial police response. He has remained incarcerated at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution since.

He pleaded guilty in December 2023 to third-degree animal cruelty by unnecessarily or cruelly abusing a living animal, resulting in its death, the prosecutor's office said.

He was also sentenced for simple assault, a disorderly persons offense, because Sanchez physically attacked his roommate shortly after killing the cat, authorities said.

Arnette set additional requirements beyond the prison term, including that Sanchez is ordered to have no contact with the victim of the assault, to never return to the scene of the crime, to surrender all of his privately owned firearms, and to engage in 30 days of community service.

He also received a permanent ban on owning or living in a residence with any pet or animal, and was ordered to pay $525 in restitution – to cover the cost of the necropsy that disproved his initial claim to authorities that the cat’s death was a mercy killing necessitated by her being mortally injured from being struck by a vehicle.

The case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Keri-Leigh Schaefer and Sevan Biramian.