CANTON, Ohio — Allexis Ferrell, a 27-year-old Ohio woman who killed and ate a cat in Canton, has been sentenced.
On Monday, Stark County Court of Common Pleas Judge Frank G. Forchione sentenced Ferrell to 12 months in prison.
The sentencing came on Monday after Ferrell pleaded guilty to cruelty to companion animals, a fifth-degree felony.
In April 2023, Ferrell was sentenced to three years of probation for a child endangerment charge. However, her probation was revoked following the new case, resulting in an 18-month prison sentence and bringing her total sentence to 30 months.
CASE DETAILS
The incident happened on Friday, Aug. 16, in the 1100 block of 13th Street Southeast in Canton. After receiving multiple calls, police arrived at the scene and arrested Ferrell on animal cruelty charges.
According to a police report previously obtained by 3News, officers alleged that Ferrell “smashed the cat’s head with her foot and then began to eat the cat.”
In addition, an officer noted that he saw blood on her feet and fur on her lips. Following the incident, the Humane Society came and picked up the cat.
Body camera video of her arrest can be watched below:
NATIONAL ATTENTION
Ferrell's case drew national attention when Springfield, Ohio, over 170 miles from Canton, was at the center of the immigration debate during this year's presidential campaigning.
“They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats," President-elect Donald Trump said during the September debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. "They’re eating the pets of the people that live there."
After claims circulated that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were stealing and eating pets, 3News' VERIFY team reported that the Springfield Police Department said there was no truth to the viral claims.
Following the presidential debate, the Associated Press reported that Ferrell is not Haitian, as she was born in Ohio and graduated from Canton McKinley High School in 2015.
VERIFY also noted that the video of Ferrell's arrest in Canton was completely unrelated to the false claims that were made in Springfield.