Police know who tortured Sage the cat but won’t arrest and charge him. These are allegations but they are based on sound circumstantial evidence provided by China Cassel, Sage’s owner in a Facebook post which has since been deleted. We don’t know who deleted it. The post was made on the Justice for Sage, Neighborhood Watch, Facebook page where they continue to seek justice four months after the cat was brutally tortured in Clearfield, Utah. It is probably the worst case of cat cruelty documented on the internet. The reward for information stands at $63,000 and one person donated $2,500 but no results.
Below, I publish the Facebook post by China Cassel which was in response to people deciding that she was involved in some way in this heinous crime. In it she indirectly tells the public that a ‘suspect’ (my description) was interviewed by the police and was subjected to a polygraph test (lie detector test). The man failed the test. At the time of the crime this man was living in the home where Sage and his owner (and her boyfriend Alex) lived. He is a family member by marriage. China Cassel will not disclose the man’s name. The police refuse to release his name. In short the man is well-known to the family and behaving in a way which indicates that he believes that he is untouchable.
Perhaps people are frightened of him. The man is allegedly a gang member and a ‘mentally ill animal abuser’.
From what China Cassel writes it is clear that the person who failed the ‘poly’ taunted her and her boyfriend about how he was avoiding being arrested. He said that the police can’t touch him. The Facebook post was forwarded by a concerned person to Animal Control and the police but there was no response which is suspicious and concerning. Why are the police doing nothing to harden the evidence against this man and arrest and charge him?
This is China Cassel’s Facebook post (now deleted from Facebook):
“I am aware that many of you are torn up over Sage but you have to realize we are too. Alex and I had a separate room from the house. So we couldn’t have heard Sage cry out. And before everyone has the heart to sit here and accuse Alex and I of doing this, because we moved out of state or because we have been to jail, we have never been abusive. We have never been drug addicts. Alex smoked weed when he was 18. That’s what he went to jail for. I went to jail for running away from an abusive foster family. So they got me for missing court.
How does that make us heartless and killers?
Someone did fail the poly test. And someone did plead the 5th. And it was someone in the home that is family. But because he has kids with someone in the home. Not by blood or liking.. This someone is a HUGE reason we left. A huge reason we don’t associate at the house. This person showed no interest at the vigil or helping of Sage. You don’t know him because he stayed out of the picture. He was on the news once. That was it. He played it well. But for many of you to sit back and allow rumors to be spread, is a insult to Sage and Sages life. We mourn him everyday. We are just as upset that justice is not served. But because this person was not working with Clearfield Detectives and basically sat there and told them they can’t do anything about it, is frustrating. Believe me when I say Alex and I are more frustrated at the fact he gets to get away with this and still be around the family, more than any of you. It is disgusting and hurtful. But we got so tired of fighting about this person to the family that we said enough. And moved on.”
China Cassel and her boyfriend moved out of Utah to Wyoming after the trauma of this crime. It is believed that they moved to avoid the taunts of the man believed to be the torturer and to avoid any further questioning.
Months later the police have failed to bring the perpetrator to justice. The case has been declared ‘inactive’. It seems to me that the man referred to is almost certainly the torturer. It is clear that Sage was tortured by someone known to the family as a way of getting at Sage’s owners and hurting them emotionally. There appears to be enough evidence to charge him and take it to trial. It is said that the police chief has received death threats. Also, the state of Utah is not known to be a state which upholds animal rights. Apparently it is the second lowest in the US for defending animal rights. There appears to be a lack of concern from law enforcement. The public wants to know why the police have not arrested this man.
Animal advocates are clamouring for justice for Sage. To think of this despicable crime motivates concerned people to fight on. It does for me.
The behaviour of China Cassel is questionable. She has moved to another state. Is she part of the problem? Has she been unhelpful in bringing this man to justice? Does she know more than she is disclosing? She knows the full background story to this crime and knows who did it. She should be a good witness together with other family members living in the house where Sage was tortured. Good enough for the police to charge the man.
Below is a link to an earlier post on this site which early on stated that is was clear that the criminal was and is known to Sage’s owner and family:
Was Sage, the Cat, Pushed through the Dog Door by the Person Who Tortured Him?
Update: there have been developments. Here is the full set of pages on this saga:
[weaver_show_posts tags=”Sage” sort=”ASC” number=”15″]
Sorry the article dampened your spirits, Ruth. It did the same for me. I think the police have enough evidence to arrest him and perhaps charge him. It is about commitment at the end of the day.
I read this story thinking I would learn how many years in prison the perpetrator received for this horrible crime. I can’t even put into words how upsetting it was to me to find that he is still at large, even though the police pretty much know who did it. The problem is that prosecutors like to know they can get a conviction. No one saw him do it, or if they did they are afraid of him. With good reason, probably.
I was feeling really good after a few days up north, swimming in the river and taking long walks with my mom. I was shocked at how quickly recalling Sage’s suffering could put a pall over my spirit and just leave me deeply depressed when I had been feeling happy and light before reading this article.