"Cat-Eating" Ohio Woman Sentenced to 30 Months

“Cat-Eating” Ohio Woman Sentenced to 30 Months

Judge hold wooden gavel, a wooden legal gavel on an office desk, Judge gavel, Law

Source: Dmytro Skrypnykov / Getty

Canton, Ohio woman, Allexis Ferrell, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison following the highly publicized case of animal cruelty. Ferrell was sentenced on Monday by Stark County Court of Common Pleas Judge Frank G. Forchione.

The sentence will include 12 months for a fifth-degree felony charge of cruelty to companion animals, after the 27-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge. The conviction also led to the removal of her probation from a prior child endangerment case which resulted in an additional 18-month sentence.

The incident took place August 16th on 13th Street Southeast in Canton, OH. Police responded to multiple calls reporting a disturbing act of animal cruelty. According to the police report, Ferrell “smashed the cat’s head with her foot and then began to eat the cat.” Officers arriving at the scene saw blood on her feet and fur on her lips. The cat was later taken by the Humane Society.

[WARNING: Footage may be graphic for some]

Watch the body cam footage below:

National Controversy

The case became a focal point of misinformation during the 2024 presidential campaign. During the debate in September, President-elect Donald Trump referenced unverified claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were “stealing and eating pets”. Fact-checkers debunked these claims, as the Springfield Police Department confirmed no evidence of the reported claims.

The Associated Press clarified that Ferrell is not Haitian. She was born in Ohio and graduated from Canton McKinley High School in 2015. The viral narrative linking her actions to Springfield is determined to be false.