By: Jason Benitez

In crime, the voice of the victim is often times just an audible whisper under the noise created by the perpetrator. We view glimpses of people fraught with anguish and loss only in the background of the media, as attention is diverted towards the criminal. But for some, the fear and pain instilled by unimaginable events remains too near.

Such is the case for many residents in Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay, Florida.

An ominous feeling settles within when driving around the area of Lake Whispering Pines in Cutler Bay. The lake itself lays still as death, a mute witness to an unknown’s deplorable crimes. Locals track suspicious vehicles with stern gumption. During the day, rarely a single street circling the lake lacks one neighbor or another engaged in outdoor activity. Unmarked vehicles are quickly noticed and at times even followed if not immediately recognized as being part of the community.

Victims in these Southwestern Miami neighborhoods have been experiencing a barrage of cat killings in recent months.

These folk have merit in their vigilance: several are victims of the gruesome feline slayings reported in the recent month.

“It has affected us; we are certainly going to keep an eye out,” said Edward Mizerny, a Miami-Dade fireman who has lived in the neighborhood for five years. “I’m more concerned that the next step from killing cats is killing people.”

The site of Lake Whispering Pines carries the burden of a series of terrible events.

On March 13th, Barbara Wiesinger, a resident who lives half a block from the lake on Ridgeland Dr, took her dog out for a morning walk. She hoped to catch sight of her tortoise-shell cat Cami, whom she had noticed was missing the night before. Although several neighbors had been experiencing a series of cat deaths weeks before, which at first were believed to be attributed to hit-and-runs, she could not have prepared for the horror that befell her eyes that morning.

An agitated and distraught neighbor, going the opposite direction, called her attention and requested Barbara to accompany her to the edges of Lake Whispering Pine.

“There were dead and mutilated cats strung around the lake, and all this time I’m thinking ‘Cami is missing, Cami is missing,’” said Barbara disconsolately. “Their heads were crushed. Some of them had their skin missing. There was no blood.”

“I spotted Cami three houses away, across the street. She never used to leave my yard.” According to police reports, Barbara Wiesinger’s cat was found missing the top half of its mouth.

“This is a very evil thing,” remarked Barbara grimly.

The number of incidents reported between Cutler and Palmetto Bay, the two areas where the serial cat killer has consistently struck, are currently estimated at 25 to 26 feline murders.

“That is not to say he is not killing strays,” said Miami Dade Police spokeswoman Detective Rebecca Perez. “In this case, we have incidents of both the killer targeting strays and house pets. They all seem to be cut open at the stomach. Most have had their pelt removed, and several have had their heads crushed in.”

At this point, MDPD does not have any subject descriptions.

“This person has not made any indication that this is to scare anyone or anything of that nature, it’s just the act itself is very strange.”

This Cutler Bay community has been terrorized by the notorious seriel cat killer multiple times.

In mid-April, Sandra Glinn, another resident of Ridgeland Dr, was busy preparing a meal in her kitchen when her daughter and daughter’s husband came bursting into the room anxious to find her. They knew Sandra shared her time and her home with nine cats, which she had domesticated herself and who frequented her house and backyard.

According to Sandra, these cats rarely left the boundaries of her property line, and if they did, only to play in the yard.

“I have had cats for many, many years, and my cats do not leave [the area of my home],” said Sandra reminiscently. “They like the love, the caring, the attention and of course the food.”

One of her companions was a pure black rescued cat named Bean.

“My daughter saw him across the street, right in front of our house. She came running in screaming ‘He’s dead, He’s dead, He’s dead and he looks terrible.’”

“I could not believe he was dead, but I ran outside with a towel and there he was, lying on the ground. Rigor head had already set in; he was so stiff. His head was bashed in.”

Sandra was missing two more of her cats, Pastelito and Tiger, before the incident concerning Bean. At first, she thought Bean’s death was a result of a speeding, unaware driver, as most community members in the neighborhood did at the time, until she noticed the cut; a gash on Bean’s back that resembled the clean edge of a blade. Now, the reality of her other two beloved’s disappearance was settling in.

“I have never experienced this; I have had cats forever, and they have always been my friends. They have not bothered anyone.”

Despite the cloud of grief these recent incidents have cast over the areas of Palmetto and Cutler Bay, the enduring neighbors of Lake Whispering Pines expressed pity above fear for the apprehension of the serial cat killer.

“He must obtain some kind of care to treat this illness that he has, or it will escalate,” continued Sandra. “I just could not believe that someone would do this.”

Around the edges of Lake Whispering Pines, a multitude of mutilated cat corpses have been found.

According to Miami Dade Crime Stoppers, the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the serial cat killer is up to $7,500. Onlyforpetlovers.com alone has offered $500 leading to the apprehension of this dastardly creature.

MDPD is still urging the citizens of Palmetto and Cutler Bay to keep cats indoors until the culprit is in custody. We urge all of our local members to be on alert for any suspicious characters in the area.