Mother and Daughter Stabbed Family Cat to Death: State's Attorney

An Elmhurst woman and her mother accused of stabbing the family cat have each been charged with aggravated animal cruelty.

Samantha Palermo, 21, of the 900 block of S. Euclid, Elmhurst, and her mother Kelly Palermo, 50, of the 5900 block of N. Ozanam, Chicago, were arrested June 10, according to the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Kelly and Samantha Palermo were at Samantha’s home in Elmhurst when Kelly became angry at the cat around 8:50 p.m. Kelly Palermo picked up the cat and held it while Samantha Palermo stabbed it several times, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

Kelly Palermo’s 14-year-old son got the cat away from Kelly and called 911.

Kelly Palermo took the cat back from her son and held it down while Samantha Palermo stabbed it several more times, killing it, according to prosecutors.

Samantha Palermo’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 7, in front of Judge Robert Kleeman. Kelly Palermo’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 6 before Judge Liam Brennan.

As a condition of bond, both defendants were ordered not to possess any animals.

“The allegations in this case are beyond disturbing,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin said in a statement. “The very idea that two adults would work in tandem to kill a helpless family pet is sickening and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I would like to thank the Elmhurst Police Department for their work on this case as well as Assistant State’s Attorney Megan McGuire Bachman for her efforts in securing charges against Samantha and Kelly Palermo.”

Photos courtesy of the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office