ILLINOIS – A woman has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for holding down her family’s cat while her daughter stabbed it to death just last year in west suburban Elmhurst.
Kelly Palermo, who is 51, pleaded guilty to one felony count of aggravated animal cruelty on July 26, according to a statement from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.
At about 8:50 p.m. on June 10, 2015, while at her daughter’s home in the 900 block of South Euclid in Elmhurst, Palermo became angry with the family cat, Zeppelin, prosecutors explained.
Kelly Palermo picked up the cat and held it while her 22-year-old daughter, whose name is Samantha Palermo, stabbed it several times, prosecutors went on to say.
Kelly Palermo | DuPage County sheriff’s office
Kelly Palmermo’s 14-year-old son did manage to get Zeppelin away from his mother and called 911. However, she took the cat back and held it down while Samantha stabbed it again, eventually killing it, prosecutors noted.
Palermo, of the 5900 block of North Ozanam, which is located in Chicago, was sentenced Monday to 90 days in the DuPage County Jail, according to prosecutors. She is also banned for life from owning, or living with someone who owns a companion animal, and has been ordered to pay a $5,000 fine plus court costs.
“This morning, Kelly Palermo learned that for this heinous act of cruelty, she will spend three months of her life behind bars,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin stated in the statement. “While Ms. Palermo took responsibility for her involvement in the death of a family pet, there is nothing that can be done to bring Zeppelin back.”
Samantha Palermo also faces one felony count of aggravated animal cruelty, and her case is yet pending. She is next scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 17.
