I-Team: New Details About The Cat Killing Case Reporting

The case against accused serial cat killer Tyler Weinman is based entirely on circumstantial evidence and could depend on the county crime lab's ability to adapt DNA and other forensic tests typically used for human victims to animals

The arrest affidavit against Weinman, 18, has been sealed by the judge, but interviews by the CBS4 I-Team with those involved in the investigation provide for the first time a much fuller picture of the prosecution's case.

While none of the individual pieces of evidence uncovered by investigators provide clear and compelling proof of Weinman's guilt, prosecutors are hoping that when taken in totality, the evidence will point to Weinman as one of the people responsible for the torture and mutilation of at least nineteen cats.

They are also hoping items found during a search of Weinman's home – including several knives discovered hidden in Weinman's bedroom – will provide them the proof they will need.

Sources also tell the CBS4 I-Team that there are two additional targets that police are investigating as possible accomplices of Weinman. It is unclear when or if they will be charged.

Weinman's attorney, David Macey, strongly denied his client was the cat killer and claims police rushed to make an arrest in order to dampen the public outcry over the killings. "Tyler welcomes his day in court so that he will be completely vindicated," said Macey.

Police began to focus on Weinman in mid-May after his name was brought to their attention through a tip. When detectives first interviewed the teenager they grew more suspicious. Sources say Weinman showed numerous scratch marks on his hands, arms, neck and chest, consistent with someone holding a struggling cat.

Detectives' interests were further fueled as they questioned Weinman about the anatomy class he had taken at Palmetto High School in which he dissected a cat. Detectives found Weinman's description "disturbing."

They also noted that Weinman travelled back and forth between his mother's house in Cutler Bay and his father's home in Palmetto Bay, placing him in the heart of where the cats were being killed.

Approximately two weeks ago, police received permission from a judge to place an electronic tracking device on Weinman's car so they could monitor his movements.

According to those familiar with the investigation, the car's whereabouts were consistent with the dates, times and locations of cats being dumped.

When detectives questioned Weinman about his movements, Weinman – not realizing his car was being monitored with a tracking device – allegedly denied being in certain locations. Police viewed those denials as lies and considered them further proof of Weinman's possible guilt.

Detectives made several attempts to conduct actual surveillance of Weinman, but never saw him doing anything wrong.

Based on the information they gathered – the scratches on Weinman's body, his proximity to the dead cats, the tracking device on his car, the anatomy class at Palmetto, as well as other details not yet made public – prosecutors were able to convince a judge to grant three search warrants: one for his mother's house, one for his father's house, and one for Weinman's car.

Those search warrants were executed around midnight Saturday.

The best piece of evidence found was an assortment of knives and cutting instruments hidden in Weinman's room.

Those knives may very well be the key to the case. But forensic tests involving animal blood is not routine. Specifically, prosecutors are still waiting to learn if they can match DNA from a dead cat to possible blood found on the knives in Weinman's bedroom?

In addition to DNA evidence, investigators are trying to run other tests to see if stains found on clothing or other items in the house and car, test positive for animal blood. And if so, they can easily determine the type of animal.

The lead prosecutor on the case, Assistant State Attorney Michael Van Zamft, acknowledged in an interview Tuesday night they are still trying to sort out what forensic tests are possible, including possible DNA tests.

"We do not have all of the scientific tests back yet," Van Zamft said.

If prosecutors through blood or DNA evidence can link Weinman to just one dead cat, then they believe their overall case becomes much easier to prove.

Also, since some of the cat owners buried their cats before reporting the incident to police, prosecutors will not have forensic evidence in all of the cases. Which means some counts will be stronger than others.

Shortly after police began the search of Weinman's homes, undercover officers took Weinman into custody at a party in Coral Gables.

Van Zamft admitted there was some discussion as to when Weinman should be arrested. For instance, police could have executed the search warrants, sent their evidence to the crime lab for analysis, and then waited for the DNA and other blood tests to come back before making an arrest.

Without criticizing the police, Van Zamft said it was the police department's decision to arrest Weinman. He also said while he would have liked to have had the lab results first, he supported the police department's decision to arrest Weinman.

"Do I think the evidence that we collected from the search warrants will make the case stronger? Yes I do," said Van Zamft. "Do I think our case is sufficient based on the information we had before the arrest? Yes I do."

Van Zamft said police still have "teams' of detectives working on gathering more evidence against Weinman, as well as investigating other suspects.

One of the questions detectives are trying to answer is where Weinman allegedly took the cats to torture and kill them.

Police suspect he had a specific killing place somewhere in the neighborhood. Once he was done, they believe he would return the cats to their owner's front yard.

"The cats were not killed where they were left," Van Zamft said. Weinman may have held onto the cats for several days before returning them, Van Zamft said. The problem, he noted, is that some of the owners are unsure how long the cats were missing before they turned up dead.

Police also seized Weinman's computer and are still waiting on a forensic review of what it contains.

If police and prosecutors are unable to garner something new from the computer, or obtain the blood or DNA evidence they are hoping to find, then there will likely be increased pressure on them to find an accomplice in this case and force that person to testify against Weinman

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