‘Heartless’ nurse accused of killing neighbor’s cats and pregnant dog with pesticide

A Florida nurse was arrested for allegedly poisoning her neighbor’s pets with pesticides after threatening to kill the animals if they kept coming into her yard.

Tamesha Knighten was arrested Wednesday on three counts of animal cruelty and one count of depositing poison in public after Polk County Sheriff’s Office detectives say she poisoned two cats and a pregnant Chihuahua on Aug. 16, 2023. .

The 51-year-old registered nurse also killed eight puppies in the dog’s womb, authorities said.

“We saw that one of them was in terrible distress, others had already died,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a press conference, according to WFLA.

“The one who was in terrible trouble died immediately,” he added.

Authorities began investigating after the two cats, Luna and Pancake, died within hours of each other. Both felines were reportedly choking, foaming at the mouth and in severe pain, authorities said.

Luna and Pancake’s owners realized they couldn’t find their 4-year-old pregnant dog, Daisy, and began searching for her. But when they found her, she had already died.

Tamesha Knighten was arrested Wednesday on three counts of animal cruelty and one count of depositing poison. Polk County Sheriff’s Office Poisoned two cats and a pregnant Chihuahua on August 16, 2023.

The owners of the deceased animals told detectives that Knighten had previously threatened to poison their pets if they continued to enter his yard. They also said they saw Knighten walking in his yard the day his pets died.

Knighten was captured on home surveillance footage wearing rubber gloves and carrying a plate of chicken strips mixed with what she called her “special seasoning” to her yard to feed the neighborhood animals, Judd said.

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Samples taken from the bowl and the dead pets confirmed that the “special seasoning” was phorate, a pesticide found in insecticides, authorities said.

“Never poison innocent animals,” Judd said. “Unless, of course, you want to go to jail too.”

“We called her ‘IJN,’” Judd said. “A nurse ‘in jail'”.

Knighten was captured on home surveillance footage wearing rubber gloves and carrying a plate of chicken strips mixed with what she called her “special seasoning” to her yard to feed the neighborhood animals. Samples taken from the bowl and the dead pets confirmed that the “special seasoning” was phorate, a pesticide found in insecticides, authorities said. Polk County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Judd said it took a long time to make an arrest in the case because samples had to be sent to labs at three different universities.

“These people lost their beloved pets in the most horrible way, and she lost her freedom by going to jail,” Judd said in a statement. “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, who worked for United Health Care at Wellmed in Lakeland, was charged with three counts of animal cruelty.

She was booked into the Polk County Jail and it is unclear if she was released on bond.

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Source: vtt.edu.vn

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