SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, Oct. 20, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A Salt Lake County man has been released on bail after his arrest for torture of a companion animal after reportedly telling West Jordan police he had punched the pet, a kitten named Marge, repeatedly.
The abuse was reported by the animal’s owner, who told officers that 25-year-old Edgar Eduardo Soto had been alone with Marge prior to the cat’s critical injury. The owner said Soto had called her that day, Oct. 6, saying “he had given Marge a bath, slipped and fell, injuring the kitten.” Soto reportedly took the cat to a veterinarian that day, “but very little treatment was provided because of funding.”
Marge was examined again the next morning, “and found to be in an extreme amount of pain and was suffering,” Soto’s affidavit says.
“The kitten was humanely euthanized due to the extent of the injuries because of a grim prognosis…”
Soto agreed to meet investigators at the West Jordan Police station on Oct. 17.
“Post Miranda, Edgar admitted to placing a blanket over the companion animal, Marge, and striking her three to four times with his fist,” his affidavit says. “Edgar Soto tortured the companion animal by intentionally and knowingly causing and inflicting extreme physical pain in an atrocious and cruel manner.
Soto was booked for aggravated torture of a companion animal, intentionally and knowingly, classified as a third-degree felony. His bail was set at $500, and he is no longer listed among current Salt Lake County jail inmates.
