A 38-year-old south Jefferson County woman has been found guilty of animal cruelty and child abuse in connection with the Oct. 18 drowning of two cats.
Delene Madison Hart was convicted late Thursday by a Jefferson County District Court jury of two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and negligent child abuse.
Investigators said Hart directed her 14-year-old son and a 19-year-old friend to hold the animals underwater in the family’s bathtub because the cats had repeatedly soiled the house.
The cats’ bodies were found stuffed inside garbage bags at Hart’s home in the Ken Caryl Ranch development.
Hart faces up to 10 years of imprisonment. No sentencing date has been set.
