Caught! Tip Leads Cops To Ohio Cat Killer

The suspect has been charged with a pair of felonies and remained jailed awaiting arraignment on Tuesday evening.

A 27-year-old Ohio man has been identified and arrested in connection with the cruel death of a cat in late January.

Police located Zhean Bai of Oxford, Ohio, thanks to a tip from the public and charged him with a pair of felonies. They say he’s the man seen in disturbing security camera footage from Jan. 24, when he chased an apparent stray cat into an apartment complex in Hamilton, Ohio. The footage shows Bai forcing the cat into a plastic bag and slamming it onto the ground.

The charges — prohibitions concerning companion animals and breaking and entering — are fifth-degree felonies under Ohio law. Bai faces up to two years in prison, $5,000 in fines and up to five years of probation if he’s convicted of both crimes.

Zhean Bai
Zhean Bai as seen in his jail booking photo. Credit: Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

After severely injuring the feline, Bai allegedly dumped the cat behind the building and fled. A dog warden found the cat, but a veterinarian made the decision to euthanize due to the extent of the cat’s injuries, including a broken spine and pelvis.

“This instance of horrific cruelty is unimaginable and will never be tolerated in this county,” Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones wrote in a statement to the media. “Anyone who treats an animal in such a cruel manner will always find a place in my jail.”

The investigation isn’t over. Police say they’re looking into the possibility that Bai may have been involved in other animal cruelty cases.

Bai was apparently concerned he’d be caught. The same cameras show him returning to the apartment complex — where he does not live — and scoping it out for security cameras. He was wearing the same shoes and jacket and had recently gotten a haircut, giving police and the public a better view of his face. Cops quickly released a second batch of images this week, imploring the public help them find the man.

Bai was held in Butler County jail pending arraignment on Tuesday evening. It wasn’t immediately clear if he’d retained an attorney.

16 thoughts on “Caught! Tip Leads Cops To Ohio Cat Killer”

  1. Sort of good news, but I would prefer death, nobody will miss him… but then maybe Karma will kick in at some point and he will get the penalty he deserves

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  4. This is great news. But not going to lie. Will this trash serve 2 years? I am a pc moron. If i knew how to make a petition on ForceChange i would. Maybe the outrage of the public will help. Maybe not. Several cases are updated on Forcechange to see if vile perp got jail time. Please let us know if he goes to jail.

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  6. I’m glad he’s in jail but I want to know why he did that. What motivates these people who think cruelty is okay?

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      1. The last update was that he was in jail on $50k bail/bond. Some states still haven’t gotten rid of the concept of bail, thankfully.

        Unless he has a chatty lawyer who tries to get cute with an explanation, I don’t think we’re going to know anything. Maybe if he’s convicted and makes a statement in the hopes of getting a lesser sentence.

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      2. Thanks for this update. The bail amount strikes me as a bit low but cruelty against animals laws often are weak.

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      3. When I was trying to find out what the sentencing guidelines were for the two charges, I noticed the abuse charge falls under agriculture and markets law, just like animal welfare laws here in New York.

        Classifying them that way is a relic of the old laws going back at least 120 years when most animal-related crime involved farm animals: livestock, beasts of burden, etc. Compensatory damages if, say, someone’s dog killed a farmer’s chickens, that sort of thing.

        The two biggest problems with that are: 1) Agriculture and markets are separate from penal law, preventing harsher penalties, and 2) By definition they treat animals as property instead of well loved companions, members of the family and, even if they’re not pets, fully sentient creatures in their own right. And the monetary value placed on them assumes they’re fungible items rather than individuals who have their own personalities.

        Obviously treating a cat or a dog like a toaster is bullshit. I paid a $100 adoption fee for Bud. His value to me is incalculable and is not measured in monetary terms. You can’t simply give me another cat. I’m not unique in that regard.

        Maybe down the line it’ll be worth a story looking at which states still classify animal welfare laws that way, and the effect it has on prosecution and deterrence.

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  7. Poor cats are treated horribly by humans. I always feel bad when I see happy kittens playing not knowing the cruelty that awaits so many of them. The cat hate propaganda like the article written by that creepy Jonathan Franzen fuels the already biases that humans have for cats. I just hope justice is served for this awful crime against an unnamed cat that was once a happy kitten.

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