Cats found dead; Milwaukee man charged with stalking, mistreatment

article

Kadreon Bennett

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man is charged with stalking, animal mistreatment and more after prosecutors said police found his ex-girlfriend's cat dead inside an apartment earlier this year.

Charges filed

In Court:

Court records show 22-year-old Kadreon Bennett is charged with seven felonies and five misdemeanors in the case. He's being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on $10,000 cash bond.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

Records show Bennett also has an open case in which he's charged with two misdemeanors for threatening the same woman in 2024. He was also previously convicted of receiving a stolen gun in 2022.

Cats found dead

What they're saying:

Milwaukee police were called to an apartment for an animal welfare check on Aug. 5. A criminal complaint said the victim reported Bennett, her ex-boyfriend, had previously threatened to kill her cats and, that day, had sent her a video that appeared to show her 3-year-old cat dead.

After receiving the video, court filings said the victim went to see Bennett and he "immediately became upset." She said he told her "she was lucky police were down the block" for a community event or he "would have murdered her and laughed over her dead body." She said he was holding a black-and-silver handgun.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

When officers got to the apartment, Bennett was nowhere to be found. The complaint said officers were let inside, and they "immediately" saw three dead cats. The apartment was "generally unclean and did not appear fit for animal habitation."

Prosecutors said the victim's cat was found dead in the kitchen. A 1-year-old cat was found dead in the living room, and another 1-year-old cat was found dead on a blood-stained blanket near the front door. They are all cold to the touch.

A necropsy determined the cause of death for each cat was "repeated severe direct blunt force trauma to the head," which resulted in multiple skull fractures, according to the complaint. The fractures to the victim's cat were the "most severe," and the animal also had signs of "manual strangulation."

Threats and violence

Dig deeper:

The complaint said Bennett was previously charged after he sent threatening texts to the victim in 2024.

While talking with the victim after her cat was found dead, court filings said she disclosed several violent incidents involving Bennett that had happened since then – but that she had not reported to police. Prosecutors said those incidents included pulling a gun on her, throwing a PlayStation at her and punching her in the face multiple times.

The victim also said Bennett threatened to kill her earlier this year if he found out she was dating someone else, per the complaint. She said he punched her in the jaw and fractured a tooth. She said she had to have the tooth pulled and has not been able to fully open her mouth since.

Bennett arrested

What we know:

Police conducted a "wanted check" for Bennett on Nov. 25. Prosecutors said officers found him walking on the city's south side and, when he saw them, he ran directly into a home. He was then taken into custody.

A resident gave police consent to search the home. Inside, court filings said officers found a black-and-silver handgun that matched the victim's description from August.