WINDSOR LOCKS — Over the course of the seven months Timothy Olschafskie lived with a local family, he methodically killed seven of their pet cats, police said Thursday.
The 20-year-old from Enfield was arrested on a warrant Wednesday charging him with seven counts of cruelty to animals. He was in custody on $150,000 bail early Thursday and was scheduled to be arraigned later in the day at Superior Court in Enfield.
The arrest followed a six-month investigation during which the family members themselves fell under suspicion, Sgt. Paul Cherniack said.
The cats died of blunt traumatic injuries, which means they likely were hit with a hard object or forcibly thrown, he said.
According to Cherniack, the family, whom he didn’t identify, agreed to have Olschafskie live with them late in 2012. He was dating a family member.
Soon after he moved in, Cherniack said, in January of 2013, “The cats started dying.” The family took in rescued animals.
Olschafskie moved out in the summer of 2013; the last cat killed died in July, Cherniack said.
The family did not initially suspect Olschafskie, he said. They didn’t know what caused the deaths. The family’s veterinarian contacted a Windsor Locks animal control officer after seeing the string of deaths in the same household.
Police then started investigating, Cherniack said.
“When we first got involved, there were really no suspects,” he said.
Eventually, Olschafskie said made an “incriminating statement” to his girlfriend’s mother, he said.
He talked about killing multiple cats, Cherniack said.
By Christine Dempsey, Hartford Courant