A Florida nurse has been arrested for allegedly poisoning her neighbor’s pets with pesticides – after threatening to kill the animals if they continued to enter her yard.
Tamesha Knighten was arrested Wednesday on three counts of animal cruelty and one count of placing poison in public after detectives with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office say she poisoned two pet cats and a pregnant Chihuahua on Aug. 16, 2023.
The 51-year-old licensed practical nurse also killed eight puppies in the dog’s womb, authorities said.
“We saw that one of them was in dire straits, the other was deceased,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a news conference, according to WFLA.
“People who are in dire straits die instantly,” he added.
Officials began investigating after two cats, Luna and Pancake, died within hours of each other. Both cats were reportedly choking, foaming at the mouth, and in severe pain, authorities said.
Owners Luna and Pancake then realized they couldn’t find their 4-year-old pregnant dog, Daisy, and began searching for her. But by the time they found him, he was already dead.
Tamesha Knighten was arrested Wednesday on three counts of animal cruelty and one count of possession of poison. Polk County Sheriff’s Office He poisoned two pet cats and a pregnant Chihuahua on August 16, 2023.
The owner of the dead animal told detectives Knighten had previously threatened to poison their pets if they continued to enter his yard. They also said they saw Knighten pacing her yard the day their pet died.
Knighten was caught on surveillance footage of his home wearing rubber gloves and taking a bowl of chicken strips mixed with what he called “special seasoning” into his yard to feed to neighborhood animals, Judd said.
Samples taken from the bowl and the dead pet confirmed the “special flavoring” was Phorate, a pesticide found in insecticides, officials said.
“Never poison an innocent animal,” Judd said. “Unless, of course, you want to go to jail, too.”
“We call it ‘IJN,'” Judd said. “A nurse ‘in-jail’.”
Knighten was caught on surveillance footage of his home wearing rubber gloves and taking a bowl of chicken strips mixed with what he called “special seasoning” into his yard to feed to neighborhood animals. Samples taken from the bowl and the dead pet confirmed the “special flavoring” was Phorate, a pesticide found in insecticides, officials said. Polk County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
Judd said it took a long time to get an arrest in that case because samples had to be sent to labs at three different universities.
“These people lost their pets in the most horrific way, and he lost his freedom by going to prison,” Judd said in a statement. “It takes a cold-hearted person to poison and kill two cats and a pregnant dog – it’s hard to imagine how someone in the medical field could do such a thing.”
Knighten, who worked for United Health Care at Wellmed in Lakeland, was charged with three counts of animal cruelty.
He was booked into the Polk County Jail and it was unclear if he was bonded out.
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