Case Report

Leonard Kritz (age 21) killed his wife�s (Stacy, age 20) pets and made her watch when she told him she�d had an abortion.

He stabbed or cut the heads off 8 animals, including birds, snakes and a chinchilla as part of his wife's punishment.

He said he did it to teach her how important life is and said she even agreed to the slaughter.
At his first court hearing he was freed on $20,00 bail, charged with 8 counts of animal cruelty and 4 counts of intimidating witnesses for threatening to kill his wife, mother-in-law and 2 female friends who reported him to police. He was also ordered to have no contact with his wife.

Court documents state Kritz admitted to the slayings and threats. And Kritz gave his wife 2 options after learning of the abortion - a divorce or disown her parents and allow him to kill her pets to prove how easy it is to kill life instead of have it.

Kritz told police he put on gloves, placed a cutting board in the sink and retrieved a World War II bayonet, as his wife said goodbye to the animals. He chopped the heads off 3 cockatiels, a conjure, a chinchilla, a python and a boa constrictor and another snake before his wife convinced him she had learned the lesson he was trying to teach. He disposed of the bodies in a nearby dumpster.

Kritz stated in court to Circuit Judge Leo Schlaefer that "the biggest thing I lost was a child. I also lost my good name. What I did to those 8 animals was not an easy thing to do".

He will serve seven months in jail after refusing to contest the charges of cruelty. He could have faced 36 years in prison.

Stacy is expecting another child.

References