A West Virginia man pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty after he decapitated his pet cat with a machete, police said.
On Monday, Gabriel Kekel plead guilty before Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Carrie Webster, according to WCHS.
In July 2021, South Charleston police responded to a well-being check after receiving a complaint that Kekel had killed and dismembered his cat and was making statements about hurting other animals.
When police arrived Kekel was waiting outside the home saying that he knew he “would be indicted”, reported WCHS.
Kekel continued to tell police that he had overdosed his cat using Benadryl tablets that he pushed down the cat’s throat and when he knew the cat was dead he cut its head off with a machete.
According to WCHS, police said that Kekel showed them inside the house, pulled down an attic ladder, and brought down three jars that contained a cat’s head, a bird skull, and a squirrel’s leg.
Kekel then told police that, if given the opportunity, he would use his stun gun and a paracord to strangle “bad” people, that it’s what he fantasized about.
After he was arrested, Kekel told officers at the station that it gave him an adrenaline rush to kill and dissect animals.
“Kekel also spoke about his fantasies of killing people and went into specific detail about how he would use a stun gun and make sure the person would not scream and then use the paracord to strangle the person,” police wrote. “Kekel then stated he would dismember the torso and use the skull for DIY projects,” reported WCHS.
Kekel faces five years in prison and must have a psychological evaluation before he is sentenced.
