The incident occurred in Hatfield Borough.
A Hatfield man is accused by detectives of drowning his 10-year-old cat in the bathtub because he thought it was God.
Evan Walter Sienkiewicz, 31, of the 400 block of West Vine Street, was charged Aug. 30 with felony aggravated cruelty to animals by neglect or torture and misdemeanor neglect of animals via an unsanitary shelter, according to court documents.
He has been jailed on a probation/parole detainer on $577 cash bail, per court documents.
On Aug. 30, detectives spoke to a county Human Society Police officer regarding a report from the practice manager at Harleysville Veterinary Hospital, according to the complaint.
The manager advised that Sienkiewicz brought in his dead male ragdoll-breed cat, Rico, to the hospital earlier in the day, police said.
A veterinarian examined Rico, whose body was in rigor mortis, according to the complaint. Sienkiewicz, police allege, told the doctor that he believed his cat was God, and that since Rico was God, he believed he could feel pain, but not die.
Sienkiewicz, police said, put Rico in the bathtub and stepped on his pelvis, while it filled with water. He tried to squeeze the air out of Rico’s chest, police said.
Then, he asked for a reassurance of death, per the complaint.
A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 25 at 9:30 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Edward Levine.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
