NYC Teen Admits Leaving Kitten in Oven to Die
Thursday, July 16, 2009

NEW YORK — A New York City teenager has admitted that she failed to let a kitten out of an oven after a friend put the animal inside and left it to roast to death.

Authorities say Cherry and a 14-year-old friend ransacked a Bronx apartment before putting the cat in the oven, where it cried and scratched before dying.

A heartless kitty killer hissed angrily at animal rights activists Wednesday, grinning widely as she took credit for stuffing the helpless pet into a 500-degree oven.

"It's dead, bitch!" snapped an unrepentant Cheyenne Cherry, sticking her tongue out after a plea bargain that will put her behind bars for a year in the May 6 killing of tiny Tiger Lily.

Cherry, 17, was confronted after her guilty plea in Bronx Supreme Court to charges of animal cruelty and attempted burglary in the May 6 killing at her former roommate's apartment.

Tiger Lily was left to die inside the blistering oven after Cherry and a 14-year-old friend trashed the apartment of Valerie Hernandez, destroying furniture before stealing DVDs and food.

After her arrest, Cherry told police the cat killing was "just a joke."

In court Wednesday, Cherry admitted to Judge Margaret Clancy that the younger girl put the cat in the oven - and "I didn't let the cat out."

The pair fled the apartment because they didn't want to hear the dying cat's cries or desperate scratching at the oven door, authorities said.

The second girl is facing trial in Family Court because of her age. Prosecutor Jennifer Troiano said Cherry was granted a plea deal because her cohort was "more culpable" for the crimes.

Under the agreement, Cherry pleaded guilty to two charges in a six-count indictment. She waived her right to appeal and agreed not to keep a pet for the next three years. Cherry, jailed on a probation violation, faces formal sentencing July 31.

As she exited the courtroom, she passed a row of animal rights activists outraged by her crime.

"Justice for Tiger Lily," read one sign held by the demonstrators.

Sharon Tuerlings, 43, of Levittown, L.I., extended both her middle fingers and kissed them. Cherry grinned widely, stuck out her tongue and responded with her profane retort.

Cherry is not new to animal crimes.

She was busted last year for using a BB gun to dog-nap a teacup Yorkie with her boyfriend. She was also arrested for robbing a man of his iPod at gunpoint.

The dozen animal lovers who attended the hearing said they represented more than 20,000 people who signed an online petition supporting harsh punishment for Cherry.

They were thrilled by the deal that guaranteed Cherry would do time for the cruel killing. "She is dangerous," said Brooklyn cat owner Josie Marrero. "A very dangerous young lady."

Tuerlings said she wanted to get a glimpse of the monster behind the cat execution. "It felt so good to look at her ugly face," she said. "Those evil eyes that she has."

dblock@nydailynews.com

I can see putting her on some long paper at 18.

Course I still stand by letting her choose something humane. This individual sounds sociopathic by the classic def. There is no cure, she will escalate & escalating from where she is now is nothing we want anywhere in society.

"It's dead, bitch!" snapped an unrepentant Cheyenne Cherry, sticking her tongue out after a plea bargain that will put her behind bars for a year in the May 6 killing of tiny Tiger Lily.

Jeffrey Dahmer first demonstrated his madness on defenseless animals.

I can see putting her on some long paper at 18. That girl needs years of structure to have any hope of being a person someday. A year from going in, she's just going to come out mad as hell and ready to kill some kittens or step up to children. I say they should give her a selection of humane ways to kill a cat, let her pick one, and then off her via that method (.22 short in the brainpan, lethal injection, gas, captive bolt one of those kinds of things) & just put the cow down.