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PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man accused of mailing the severed head of a kitten to his ex-girlfriend was ordered to stand trial on stalking and animal-cruelty charges.
Benjamin Gregory, 30, of Pittsburgh, allegedly sent the gift-wrapped package in January because he was unhappy that the relationship had ended, police said. His ex-girlfriend is an attorney who volunteers at animal shelters.
The woman had filed for a protection-from-abuse order against Gregory. He was jailed, but she said he kept calling her until she asked jail officials to block his calls. When he was released in December, she said, he started calling again.
On Jan. 28, the woman received the kitten head along with a note that read, "I love u, your Ben," she testified at a preliminary hearing Thursday.
Gregory's attorney, Phil Melograne, contends the woman has been harassing Gregory, and suggested she orchestrated the kitten head incident herself.
A district judge rejected that argument and ordered Gregory back to jail to await trial. The judge reduced an animal cruelty charge to a lesser summary offense because medical evidence showed the kitten was dead before its head was cut off.
Benjamin Gregory, 30, of Pittsburgh, allegedly sent the gift-wrapped package in January because he was unhappy that the relationship had ended, police said. His ex-girlfriend is an attorney who volunteers at animal shelters.
The woman had filed for a protection-from-abuse order against Gregory. He was jailed, but she said he kept calling her until she asked jail officials to block his calls. When he was released in December, she said, he started calling again.
On Jan. 28, the woman received the kitten head along with a note that read, "I love u, your Ben," she testified at a preliminary hearing Thursday.
Gregory's attorney, Phil Melograne, contends the woman has been harassing Gregory, and suggested she orchestrated the kitten head incident herself.
A district judge rejected that argument and ordered Gregory back to jail to await trial. The judge reduced an animal cruelty charge to a lesser summary offense because medical evidence showed the kitten was dead before its head was cut off.
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