Cat-killer Joseph Petcka's trial ends without verdict

The case of a former baseball player and actor accused of killing his ex-girlfriend's cat ended in a mistrial on Friday after jurors in the case said they could not reach a verdict.

After struggling for five days over the charge of aggravated animal cruelty, a 12-member jury at New York State Supreme Court jury couldn't decide whether ex-minor league baseball player killed his girl friend's pet in a fit of a drunken fury, or self defense.

Juror Doug Collman told reporters that after five days of deliberations jurors could not reach a verdict, so the judge ended the trial by declaring a hung jury. He said the vote had been 11 to 1 in favor of conviction on aggravated animal cruelty. One juror held out for an acquittal, he added.

Last week prosecutors charged Petcka, 37, with aggravated animal cruelty and harassment for brutally killing the neutered and declawed cat, named Norman.

They accused him of allegedly beating to death the 7-pound orange and white tabby in a drunken rage after an argument with his then-girlfriend Lisa Altobelli, who testified she had dated Petcka about six weeks before he killed her cat. Petcka complained that Altobelli loved the cat more than him.

On contrary, Petcka said Friday he killed the cat in self defense. The player/actor said he was defending himself after Norman bit his right hand on March 27, 2007. He testified that he kicked the cat and flung him into the air after being lunged at and bitten by the animal.

However, assistant District Attorney Leila Kermani contended last week that Petcka killed the cat out of jealousy, further explaining that the cat's extensive injuries prove Petcka wasn't just defending himself.

According to Kermani, the fatally beaten Norman died with broken teeth, broken ribs, a broken leg, a torn tongue, massive internal injuries including bruised lungs, a bruised liver and a chest cavity filled with blood.

"The defendant, in a fit of anger and rage, beat a defenseless animal to death," Kermani told the jury in her opening remarks last week. "The defendant killed Norman simply because he was an angry, jealous and drunken bully."

The defense attorney, Charles Hochbaum, though admitted Petcka overreacted when he was attacked by the cat, but said his client did not intentionally kill the cat. "This was a tragic accident," Hochbaum said. "It was not intentional."

The judge ordered Petcka to appear in the court on October 23. Petcka, the player-turned- actor who once had a role in "Sex and the City," may face up to two years in prison if convicted for felony animal cruelty.