37-Year-Old Faces Animal Cruelty Charges for Killing Kittens
(WNY News Now) – Hamburg, NY – Joshua Taylor, 37, also known as Moriah Taylor, was arraigned before Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi on an indictment for animal cruelty charges. Taylor faces two counts of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals (Class “E” felonies) and one count of Overdriving, Torturing, and Injuring Animals (Class “A” misdemeanor).
On January 17, 2024, Town of Hamburg Police conducted a welfare check at an apartment on Southwestern Boulevard after receiving a call from Taylor’s ex-partner, who was concerned for Taylor, two adult cats, and three kittens. Police, with consent, searched the apartment and found two cats but not Taylor or the kittens.
Taylor was later located in a nearby parking lot. The three kittens were discovered inside a pillowcase buried in the snow on the apartment’s balcony. Two kittens were deceased, and one was critically injured. The surviving kitten, suffering from hypothermia and asphyxiation, was treated and adopted by a veterinarian.
A necropsy revealed the kittens died from asphyxiation and/or hypothermia. Taylor was arraigned and released on recognizance, as the charges do not qualify for bail. Taylor is scheduled for further proceedings on August 8, 2024, and faces up to 2 years in prison if convicted.
“These defenseless kittens suffered a slow, torturous death,” said Acting Erie County DA Mike Keane. “Anyone who abuses an animal in Erie County will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The case, prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Megan E. Mahoney, involved contributions from the Town of Hamburg Police Department, Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center, SPCA Serving Erie County, and Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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