Chester teen held in torture, death of 6-week-old kitten

What kind of "animal-lover" would throw rocks at a kitten, then pin it down and set it on fire?

That would be Rishawn "Bean" Morrison, according to Chester police.

Cops arrested the 19-year-old Thursday, pulling him out of class at Chichester High School and charging him with animal cruelty and disorderly conduct in the torture of "Cuddles," a 6-week-old brown tabby that later died.

"He asked what it was about, then said, 'That ain't me. I'm an animal-lover," Detective Capt. Joseph Massi said yesterday. "We have information that says otherwise."

Two witnesses told police that they were with Morrison Saturday in a rear alley on West Fifth Street when he began throwing stones at the kitten, according to the criminal complaint.

Morrison then "held the kitten down and set it on fire," the complaint states.

No one answered the door yesterday at Morrison's home on Galbraith Avenue, but a neighbor said the teen hadn't caused trouble before.

"We've never had a problem with him," said the woman, who asked not to be identified. "I don't know what got into him."

Morrison, who was transported to Delaware County Prison after failing to post 10 percent of $50,000 bail, is due in court next week for his preliminary hearing.

Chester police and the Delaware County SPCA have received phone calls from people offering reward money - it was up to $1,500 yesterday afternoon - and tips about the incident.

"I'm thrilled that they were able to catch the perpetrator," said SPCA spokeswoman Fran Franchi. "We need to make sure that people understand this is a crime and they will be arrested and they will be prosecuted."

In recent months, several other cats have been severely abused in Delaware County, including a 6-week-old kitten that was thrown from a moving vehicle in Brookhaven; an orange tabby that was set ablaze in Darby Borough, and an 8-week-old kitten that was shot with a BB gun in Chester.

Philadelphia logged two cases last month: A cat later named "Sticky" was wrapped in duct tape in North Philadelphia, and three kittens were tossed from a bus in Port Richmond.

Massi said he appreciates the cooperation his department received from the public in tracking down Cuddles' alleged attacker. Yet when it comes to solving homicides, the phone lines rarely light up.

"We're glad to get the cooperation," Massi said, "but if we had the same type of cooperation for serious crimes involving humans, maybe we wouldn't have such a violent society."