CANTON — The ongoing court case involving a 27-year-old Canton resident accused of killing and eating a cat has become an unlikely fixture in the presidential campaign debate, at least among some people online.
A Cincinnati Enquirer article published online Monday said some people are confusing his August arrest with unfounded rumors that Haitian immigrants in the southwestern Ohio city of Springfield were eating pets.
A video posted on YouTube falsely claims to show police officers confronting a Haitian woman in Springfield over eating a cat.
In reality, the video shows body camera footage taken by Canton police officers at the scene of the August 16 incident in Canton. The video posted by the “Fake News Network” is titled “Haitian Woman Eats Neighbor’s Cat in Springfield.”
In response to rumors spreading on social media, Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck, through his office, released a statement Monday saying there was no evidence that cats or other pets were harmed or eaten by Haitian immigrants.
Despite Springfield’s efforts to debunk rumors that immigrants eat cats and dogs, Trump continued to spread the false narrative that immigrants eat cats and dogs.
“They eat the dogs! The people that came. They eat the cats! They eat, they eat the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said during Tuesday’s presidential debate.
Vance appeared to backtrack Tuesday, posting on X, formerly Twitter: “It is possible, of course, that all of these rumors turn out to be false.”
Ohio woman accused of eating cat lives in Canton
The Canton woman accused of killing and eating a cat has no known ties to Haiti or any other foreign country.
Allexis T. Ferrell was charged with cruelty to pets, a fifth-degree felony, and Stark County court records show she has faced other charges since 2017, including theft and misuse of credit cards and child endangerment.
“Ferrell was first arrested in Canton in 2011,” Canton police spokesman Lt. Dennis Garren wrote in an email Tuesday. “We have no reason to believe she is not a U.S. citizen.”
Springfield officials: ‘No credible reports’ of crimes committed by Haitian migrants in Ohio
Canton woman accused of eating cat pleads not guilty by reason of insanity
Ferrell is being held in the Stark County Jail with bail set at $100,000.
She has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Her lawyer has requested an evaluation to determine her mental health at the time of the alleged offence and whether she is fit to stand trial.
Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank G. Forchione is scheduled to hold a competency hearing on Oct. 15.
The alleged animal cruelty incident took place in the 1100 block of 13th Street SE at Jackson Sherrick Homes, a public housing complex owned and operated by the Stark Metropolitan Housing Authority. Ferrell lives in the complex.
The Cincinnati Enquirer contributed to this report.
Contact Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.
This article was originally published on The Repository: Ohio woman accused of killing and eating cat is American, not Haitian
