SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KTVX) – A woman was charged this month after police said she snapped the neck of the family cat in front of her two children in September.
Ariane Christine Borg, 38, was charged in 3rd District Court on January 17 with second-degree felony child abuse – inflicting serious bodily injury, third-degree felony torture of a companion animal, and two misdemeanor counts of child abuse involving physical injury.
According to charging documents, police were called to Borg’s home on September 25 where she was at home with her two children, a 10-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. When police arrived, both children were found hysterically crying and reported to police their mom was “going crazy”.
Both children told officers they heard the family cat meowing and saw their mother holding the cat by the legs and pound it repeatedly on the table. The girl said she tried to save the cat but her mother grabbed her by the arm, resulting in a large bruise. The mother then snapped the neck of the cat and threw it out on the lawn.
Police found the dead cat in the front yard.
Both children were transported away from the home while police continued to question Borg about the events.
Police said the home was in dissaray with broken items and blood scattered throughout the residence. They also found multiple self inflicted stab wounds on Borg on her wrists and her abdomen.
Police said the daughter told them her mother “goes crazy” nearly every night. The girl has since been diagnosed with acute stress disorder due to experiencing multiple traumatic events inside their home and a therapist told police the children had suffered “multiple types of abuse/trauma at the hands of their mother”.
Borg was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Friday but has since been released. Her first court appointment is scheduled for Jan 29.
The documents do not clarify where the children are now living.
