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Kitten Baked To Death In Oven

Demand Justice For Tiger Lily

Please send polite letters and faxes to the Judge, as soon as you can. Help educate about the link between violence to other species and violence to people.

On May 6, 2009, Cheyenne Cherry (age 17) of the Bronx, New York, and a 14-year-old accomplice (whose name has not been revealed due to her age) ransacked the home of Cherry’s ex-roommate, Valerie Hernandez. Not content to limit their destructive rage to Hernandez's apartment, in an act of unspeakable viciousness they stuffed Hernandez’s kitten, Tiger Lily into a hot oven and left her there to burn to death.

Cherry admitted to the police that the two fled the apartment so that they wouldn’t hear the kitten screaming and desperately scratching at the oven door. At her court appearance, Cherry admitted that she left the apartment knowing the kitten was in the oven with the heat turned up to 500 degrees. She told police that action was committed as “a joke.”

The shocking case of animal cruelty is expected to come to a close next week with the probationary review of Cheyenne Cherry in Bronx Supreme Court.

A plea bargain in July reduced Cherry’s felony animal cruelty charge to a misdemeanor, though she was convicted on the felony burglary charge. She was sentenced to one year for felony burglary and one year for misdemeanor animal cruelty, to run concurrently (one year total).

However, at the July 31 hearing for sentencing, it was revealed that Cherry had violated her probation. Not surprisingly, Cheyenne Cherry is a dangerous criminal with a prior record of armed robbery. We say "not surprisingly" because the link between violence to other species and violence to people has been conclusively proven, so much so that the link is utilized by FBI profilers.

Adolescents who commit brutal crimes against people usually begin with non-human animals. Indeed, the intentional burning of an animal is a "particularly significant predictor of violent and even homicidal behavior," says Dr. Randall Lockwood of the ASPCA's Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and a frequent law enforcement consultant.

The case has been adjourned to September 2 for probationary review, so all comments must be received by the Judge by September 1. IDA is hopeful that the latest additional information about Cherry’s violation of probation will lead Judge Clancy to conclude the two one-year sentences should run consecutively, not concurrently.

Polite letters are needed to Judge Margaret Clancy to ask that the two sentences run consecutively so there is independent punishment for the animal cruelty charge. Scroll down for talking points for your letter, and contact information for the Judge.

The unnamed 14-year-old was sentenced to 18 months in juvenile detention. According to news accounts, she was the initiator of the plan to place Tiger Lily in a hot oven, though Cherry made the decision that they should flee to avoid hearing the kitten’s cries.

Contact Info:

It is important to keep letters polite to be effective. This case has generated a great deal of anger, but that anger should not be vented on the Judge. Write (and fax) to:

Case #:02546-2009
RE: Cheyenne Cherry
Honorable Judge Margaret Clancy
Bronx County Supreme Court
265 East 161st Street
Bronx, NY 10451
Fax: 718-618-3573

Talking Points:

• Thank Judge Clancy for this review of the case, expressing that you are hopeful the review will result in a longer jail sentence for someone with such a violent past.
• Emphasize that Cherry is a repeat offender, with two prior armed robberies.
• Cherry should be barred from ever "owning" or working with animals in the future. In July, Judge Clancy ruled that Cherry be barred from "owning" animals for only 3 years. This is not enough. Given the reckless disregard for animal suffering she exhibited in this case, and her lack of remorse reported in the press, the prohibition should be imposed permanently.
• Ask the Judge for Post Release Supervision of Cherry along with psychological counseling for both Cherry and her juvenile accomplice. This is extremely important because of the tendency for animal abusers to commit repeat offenses, as well as escalate crimes. Adequate psychological counseling for both Cherry and her accomplice is the only way to address the root cause of their violent actions and total lack of empathy for living beings.
• Adolescents who commit brutal crimes against people usually begin with other species. Indeed, the intentional burning of a non-human animal is a "particularly significant predictor of violent and even homicidal behavior," says Dr. Randall Lockwood of the ASPCA's Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and a frequent law enforcement consultant. Dr. Lockwood's conclusions about "the link" have been confirmed and cited by the FBI.

New York City demonstration for Tiger Lily outside courthouse.

Welcome: Email - Contact Judge For Kitten Baked In NYC Oven