In a bizarre tale straight out of a Tim Burton movie, a 21-year-old Oregon woman has been arrested after police say she had strangled a neighbor's cat to death and then apparently attempted to operate on the animal's body.
Investigators say Ashely Guldager, of Oak Grove, strapped the dead feline to a makeshift operating table with jumper cables. A wet sponge, scissors, a 12-inch knife, a plastic razor and a cigarette butt were also found on the scene.
According to police, the body of the 9-year-old cat dubbed Momma Kitty had been tampered with and partially shaved. A necropsy showed that the cause of death was asphyxiation, OregonLive.com reported.
Guldager was taken into custody at her home in the 1900 block of Southeast Sunnyside Road Monday and charged with first-degree theft and aggravated animal abuse – a count reserved for people suspected of maliciously harming an animal.
She was booked into Clackamas County Jail on $100,000 bail.
The owner of the dead cat, Lisa-Marie Armstrong, who is Guldager’s neighbor, said Momma Kitty had gone missing three days earlier.
Instruments of torture: The cat, dubbed Momma Kitty, was strapped to a table with jumper cables and surrounded by an array of items, among them a wet sponge, scissors and a knife
Down on her luck: Police say Guldager is single and unemployed, and she has been living on a friend's couch for a month
Aspiring surgeon: Police are not sure what was Guldager's motive in this bizarre crime, which involved her turning a bathroom into an operating room
House of horrors: The disturbing discovery was made in the bathroom of this home in the 1900 block of Southeast Sunnyside Road in Oak Grove
Then on Monday, Armstrong walked into Guldager’s bathroom and came upon a horrific scene.
‘All I could see was her tail hanging off the side of the board,’ said the cat's owner.
Armstrong, who called police after making the gruesome discovery, also expressed concern about chemicals the 21-year-old suspect was mixing inside the house.
Bereaved owner: Lisa-Marie Armstrong was the one who discovered her dead cat strapped to a table in her bathroom three days after she had gone missing
Police believe Guldager killed the animal before strapping her body to a table. Officials have yet to find a motive, and the woman has been referred for a mental health evaluation.
According to police, Guldager is single and unemployed. She has been living on a couch in an upstairs apartment inside the Oak Grove residence for the past month.
The description of the disturbing scene inside the downstairs bathroom where the dead cat was found reads like a screenplay of Tim Burton’s 2012 Academy Award-nominated film Frankenweenie.
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The animated feature tells the story of a boy who decides to reanimate his dead dog by hooking him up to cables and harnessing the power of lightning after the fashion of Dr. Frankenstein.
But in many respects, the Oregon case is even stranger than fiction.
According to a bizarre jailhouse interview given by Guldager to Fox 12, the woman said that the Devil made her abuse the animal.
'I don't want to talk about the cat because that was a horrible thing,' the petite blonde, dressed in striped prison garb with her hair pulled back, said from the Clackamas County Jail.
During the emotional and often rambling interview, Guldager mentioned the Bible, Satan and eventually her neighbor's cat.
Crazed confession: In a rambling jailhouse interview given by Guldager, the woman said that the Devil made her abuse the animal
Troubled past: Last November, Guldager was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge
'My body was there,' she said. 'I was sitting there like this and there was something else doing it. Like it just used me.'
She later added: 'I'm sorry, I Love animals.'
Armstrong, who has other pets, said she demands justice for her dead cat, adding that her neighbor is 'not well.'
According to online records, Guldager was arrested in November 2012 on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.
It's alive! The macabre details of the case are reminiscent of Tim Burton's film Frankenweenie, in which a boy uses electricity to reanimate his dead dog