Immanuel Church and Denise Eddines. (Las Vegas Police)
A Las Vegas couple is accused of torturing and killing their landlord’s cat because they believed the feline was possessed by a demon, police say.
Denise Eddines, 21, and Immanuel Church, 20, were arrested on felony animal cruelty charges, KTNV reports.
Police said Eddines and Church admitted to killing the cat, named “Baby Girl,” while they were caring for their landlord’s pets while she was away taking care of a sick family member, the news station reports.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Church Says the Cat Attacked Him Like ‘Floyd Mayweather’s Last Fight’ & He Used 2 Swords to Kill the ‘Demonic’ Feline
Denise Eddines and Immanuel Church began renting a room from Nia Wulkan in her Las Vegas home about six weeks ago, she told KTNV. Earlier this month, Wulkan asked the couple to care for her cats and dogs while she was away taking care of a sick family member, the news station reports.
On February 23, Wulkan came back to her home and Eddines and Church told her they had to kill one of the cats. Police were called to Wulkan’s home after she and her son, Zane, began fighting with the couple after learning about the cat’s death.
Two of Nia’s cats survived a brutal attack by two people she rented a room to – they killed one of her cats claiming it was possessed @KTNV
According to a police report obtained by the news station, Church admitted to killing the cat, Baby Girl. Eddines told police she helped in the killing. According to police, Church said Spunky began hissing and pawing at them while they were watching TV in Wulkan’s room. They kicked the cat out of the bedroom, but the cat attacked Eddines when she went to get food from the kitchen, they told police.
Police said the couple were convinced the cat was a “demon” and the other cats owned by Wulkan could also be demons.
Church told police the cat attacked him like “Floyd Mayweather’s last fight.” He then kicked the cat violently and used two different swords to kill him.
Wulkan told KTNV that when she came home, Church smiled at her and said “I killed your cat.”
She told KVVU she keeps swords and knives in her home that are souvenirs from renaissance fairs.
Church told police he kicked Baby Girl so hard her blood splattered on the wall. He then went to get the swords, and used one to stab Baby Girl, according to the arrest report obtained by KVVU. The cat fled, and Church used a second sword to stab her. Baby Girl bled out of after the second stabbing and died.
Police said Church and Eddines disposed of the slain cat’s body in the front yard of a vacant home down the street.
2. Eddines & Church Dumped a ‘Potion’ on the Cat to Try to Get Rid of the Demon & They Attacked Wulkan’s Other Cats, Police Say
FULL STORY: Las Vegas couple accused of torturing ‘demonic’ cat to death with hot sauce, bleach and swords
@FOX5Vegas
Police said in the arrest report that Eddines and Church also concocted a potion to try to get rid of the demons inside the cats, KVVU-TV reports.
Eddines told police she Googled how to get rid of demons in cats and found a “recipe” consisting of hot sauce, bleach, Comet and other household items. She said Church held down the cat while she poured the “potion” on her.
Wulkan said they also attacked her five other cats, injuring two of them. Police said they poured the potion on another cat and sprayed one with a fire extinguisher, despite those cats not attacking them at all.
According to Wulkan, another cat, Spunky, has chemical burns. A third cat, Ninja Girl, hid in a hole in the couch to avoid being hurt as they tried to stab her. Wulkan said.
“They thought my cats were demons?” Wulkan told KVVU. “I think they should look at themselves.”
3. Church Apologized in a Jailhouse Interview, Saying He Had No Other Choice Than Killing the Cat After It Attacked Him
Church, in a jailhouse interview with KTNV, apologized to Wulkan and said he wished it never happened, the news station reports. He told KTNV he had no choice but to kill the cat because she was attacking him.
Nia Wulkan told KVVU she doesn’t believe the couple is crazy or uses drugs.
“They had them all trapped,” she said of her six cats. “They were going to kill them one by one.”
4. They Are Facing Up to 8 Years in Prison on Felony Charges of Animal Torture & Maiming
Eddines and Church are both facing animal cruelty charges and face up to eight years in prison if convicted. The charges are felonies in Las Vegas.
According to court records, they were each booked on two counts of willful and malicious torture, cruelty or unjustifiable injury to an animal. They were also charged with the maiming or killing of an animal that belongs to someone else.
5. They Are Being Held in the Clark County Detention Center & Are Set to Appear in Court on March 13
Clark County Detention Center records show both Eddines and Church are being held there on bail.
They are set to appear in court on March 13 for a preliminary hearing at the Las Vegas Justice Court.