Tyler Weinman, Florida teenager charged with string of cat killings, released on bond

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Tyler Weinman, the 18-year-old South Florida resident accused of animal cruelty in a string of grisly cat killings, has been released to await trial on house arrest. Weinman had been on suicide watch, but a Miami-Dade circuit court judge ordered him freed -- on $249,500 bond -- when a psychologist determined he was not a danger to himself or others and was mentally competent. Weinman will be monitored with an electronic ankle bracelet and will receive twice-weekly counseling sessions.

Weinman has been charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty for the cat killings. He also faces 19 charges of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary related to the crimes, which all took place in the Florida towns of Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay.

An unnamed law enforcement source told the Miami Herald that Weinman had become a suspect early on in the investigation. ‘Many tips were received; many mentioned Weinman,’ the source said, but neither prosecutors nor police have released much in the way of specifics. ‘There’s no evidence,’ according to defense attorney Michael Walsh.

The teenager’s father, Douglas Weinman, insists his son is innocent. ‘We are cat owners ourselves,’’ the elder Weinman told reporters Wednesday. ‘We certainly sympathize with the grief of the other pet owners. We are sympathetic with them, but it is not our son.’ Tyler Weinman was reportedly known as an animal lover and, according to reports, aroused investigators’ suspicions with his writings about the crimes on Facebook and MySpace. He even belonged to a ‘Catch the Cat Killer’ group on Facebook.

A circuit judge authorized searches of Weinman’s parents’ houses -- his father lives in Palmetto Bay, his mother in Cutler Bay, on a street where four of the confirmed feline victims of the cat killer went missing. During the search of Douglas Weinman’s home, police seized cutting tools which will undergo forensic testing to determine if they figured in the cats’ deaths.

Investigators have suggested the possibility that more arrests may be made in the case; a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department told CNN that police are involved in ‘an ongoing investigation. We’re looking to see if any other individuals are involved.’ (Walsh scoffed at the spokesperson’s claim, telling CNN, ‘Police say a lot of things.’)

Weinman will be back in court for an arraignment July 6.

-- Lindsay Barnett