ASHLAND — A woman accused of stabbing her cat to death entered a plea of not guilty on Friday in a hearing to an indictment filed May 10.
April Parks, 44, of Ashland, faces a fifth-degree felony count of animal cruelty stemming from an April 30 incident.
Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell, during a hearing following the initial complaint, said sheriff deputies responded to a 911 call at Parks’ house. He said callers reported Parks was having “some sort of mental health crisis.”
Tunnell said when deputies arrived, they followed a blood trail into the kitchen and found a black cat under a towel that had been stabbed several times.
“In fact, a chef’s knife had been inserted into its skull through its mouth,” Tunnell said.
Ashland County Magistrate Emily Bates set a personal recognizance bond and a surety bond at $50,000. Parks has since posted bond.
Other requirements of bond included getting a mental health assessment, abstaining from alcohol and drug use and to not be in possession or care for any animals.
On May 10, she was indicted on the initial complaint, court records show. She appeared Friday on a virtual hearing with her court-appointed attorney, Jaceda Blazef.
Parks pleaded not guilty through Blazef, who requested Bates to continue her original bond conditions.
“She’s complying with the requirements of bond,” Blazef said of her client.
Blazef was not immediately available to comment.
Bates scheduled a pre-trial hearing for June 28 and set a jury trial to begin Aug. 6.