A 27-year-old woman from Canton, Allexis T. Ferrell, was sentenced on Monday after admitting to an act of animal cruelty. Ferrell was apprehended in August at a residential complex following an incident where she killed a cat by stomping on its head and then proceeded to consume it. The arrest was made after multiple calls were received by the police about Ferrell’s actions.
In 2023, Ferrell had been handed a three-year probation sentence for a felony charge of child endangerment. The police, during her arrest for the cat incident, released body camera footage that showed blood on Ferrell’s feet and fur on her lips. An officer can be heard in the footage requesting rubber gloves as Ferrell was covered in blood. The scene also showed blood smeared on the driveway as onlookers watched the incident unfold.
The video of the incident was widely shared online and was erroneously used to support claims made by then President-elect Donald Trump that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were consuming cats. However, The Associated Press clarified that Ferrell is not an immigrant, not of Haitian descent, and was born in Ohio.
Ferrell was initially charged with disorderly conduct and cruelty to animals. Court documents reveal that she was sentenced to a year in prison for the animal cruelty charge. The court also took into consideration Ferrell’s mental state at the time of the offense.
Ferrell’s previous sentence of three years’ probation in 2023 for child endangerment was also taken into account. Due to the new conviction, she will serve an additional 18 months in prison, bringing her total sentence to 30 months. In 2019, Ferrell had also pleaded guilty to theft and misuse of credit cards.
The police body camera footage of Ferrell’s arrest can be viewed on the WKYC channel on YouTube.