Indictment: Salem Man Was 'Wasted' When He Killed Kitten

SALEM, MA -- A man accused of killing his girlfriend's kitten told police he was "wasted" and playing video games when the cat scratched his hand, according to 12-count indictment handed down by an Essex County grand jury Wednesday. Peter Rice, 44, of 37 Cabot Street in Salem, said he punched the cat in anger and, when it convulsed, he stabbed it. Rice reportedly sent a text message of the dead kitten to a friend before throwing it in the trash.

After he was arrested, Rice's girlfriend disclosed prior domestic abuse. The indictment handed down Wednesday charges him with animal cruelty, suffocation or strangulation and carrying a dangerous weapon, as well as five counts of assault and battery and four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Rice has been held without bail since he was arrested on Jan. 1.

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