New victim impact statement in cat-killing case
Mittens the cat was killed in September 2018
CORNER BROOK — The sentencing of a southwest coast man and woman convicted of killing a cat should go ahead as scheduled on May 21.
During their appearance in provincial court in Stephenville on Wednesday, the court was told that an amended copy of a victim impact statement in the death of Mittens the cat had been filed that addresses a potential concern identified during an appearance on April 21.
That's when the sentencing hearing of Peter Rossiter of O'regans and Jody Anderson of Port aux Basques had been scheduled to start.
They were convicted in December of causing the death of the cat, which had been in Anderson's care at the time.
Anderson took ownership of Mittens after the cat's original owner died. It has been alleged that Mittens was killed with an axe in September 2018, and the cat's body was never recovered.
The April 21 sentencing hearing had to be set over after Rossiter presented at court with COVID-19 symptoms.
When it was suggested that the hearing could continue without him and the victim impact statements read into the record, Rossiter's lawyer, Peter Chaffey, objected.
Chaffey said he preferred for his client to be present and that there could be an issue with the contents of one of the statements. He said he wanted to review it with Rossiter. The matter was set for Wednesday in case there was any challenge of the statement.
Based on the changes, Chaffey agreed with Crown prosecutor Jill Quilty when she said there would be no need for argument on the statement.
The May 21 hearing is scheduled to take place during a circuit court in Port aux Basques.