By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – Lewis County prosecutors did not file any criminal charges today against the 24-year-old man arrested last night for allegedly killing a cat in north Centralia.
Kyle B. Burke was booked into the Lewis County Jail for animal cruelty, but released today.
“The whole thing is kind of murky,” Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said this afternoon.
Centralia police interviewed several individuals, including children, when they responded to the apartment complex on the 100 block of Virginia Drive yesterday evening. Police reported this morning they were told Burke killed the cat with a knife, but Burke denied that.
“Somebody was very cruel to this animal,” Meagher said. “But I can’t say for sure it’s this guy.”
At some point, the cat was dropped from a second-floor balcony, he said.
“In this case, there seemed to be some evidence, when police talked to all the kids, it could have suffered terrible injury at the hands of a kid,” Meagher said. “And possibly he was putting it out of its misery.”
Prosecutors don’t have the feline’s body for evidence, because for whatever reason, police didn’t pick it up, Meagher said. Although he indicated that wasn’t the primary cause no charges were filed
He said when they looked over everything, there just was not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Burke intentionally was cruel to the cat.
Meagher said his office may be talking further with Centralia detectives about the case next week.