WOMAN GETS FOUR-MONTH JAIL SENTENCE FOR CAT KILLING
MARYELLEN FILLO; Courant Staff WriterTHE HARTFORD COURANT
Jill Mazurek tried to hold back tears as she fidgeted in the back row of New Britain Superior Court Thursday awaiting sentencing for killing her roommate's cat two years ago.
"I'm sorry for the cat," said the Newington woman as she sat with her parents. "But I might be dead now if I didn't do it," she said, contending it was peer pressure and an overdose of over-the-counter cold medicine that prompted the crime. "I'd still be doing drugs and not getting the help I need."
Moments later, as about 40 animal-rights activists protested outside, Mazurek was sentenced to four months in jail and three years of probation.
Mazurek and two friends were charged with beating and drowning the cat, Adonis, at Silver Lake in Berlin in February 2002. Mazurek pleaded guilty last month to one count of animal cruelty, accepting a plea deal the same day that jury selection in her trial was to begin.
The two others, Michael Oziomek and Michael Pajak, also of Newington, are awaiting trial.
Since her arrest, Mazurek has been receiving counseling.
Members of several animal-rights groups and others who have followed Mazurek's court proceedings banded outside the courthouse again Thursday, carrying placards and demanding justice be served and that Mazurek be sent to jail.
"I'm just hoping that what has happened in this case will deter others from abusing animals," said Frank Berti, a New Britain resident who joined the group waving signs reading: "No Animal Deserves Jill," and "Kill an Animal -- Go to Jail."
"Once and for all someone has to demand that those who break the law must pay for it," said Maria Buchanan. "If we condone this behavior by doing nothing when something as innocent as a kitten is tortured to death, what kind of society are we? The cat had no ability to protect itself. No way of speaking out. We are doing it on his behalf."
At previous court appearances, Mazurek was ushered in through a back door to avoid confrontation with protesters. On Thursday, however, she and her parents hurried to the front door but not before protesters noticed them and began yelling "Jail time for Jill."
"When is this going to stop, she has been punished enough," lamented Mazurek's father, Neil Mazurek, as he attempted to soothe his sobbing wife, Roberta Mazurek, while waiting for the proceedings to begin. "My family is constantly being harassed. There has been enough pain."
Roberta Mazurek declined to say anything during the proceedings conducted by Superior Court Judge Susan B. Handy.
"This was a brutal, senseless killing," Handy said, noting that the court received more than 3,000 letters on the case. "This act of brutality was committed by a troubled and mentally ill young woman." Elysia
Handy said that as part of the sentence, Mazurek is prohibited from having any unsupervised contact with pets during the three-year probation. "But you expressed sincere, genuine remorse, and I do feel you want to start a new life," Handy said.
The cat's owner, Catherine Towle, sat in the front row of the courtroom during the sentencing.
"I'm just glad she is getting the help she needs," Towle said after the proceedings. "But it is no relief when you watch a one-time friend go to jail."
Protesters rejoiced when they learned Mazurek was on her way to the state women's prison in Niantic.
"I think my children learned more here today than they would have in school," said Dayle Coutu, a Colchester mother who took her three children out of school to participate in the demonstration.
"When this happened, my oldest daughter asked me why people who hurt animals don't go to jail," said the young mother, who also runs a cat rescue service called Keep Us Purring. "I want my kids to know things are being done."
A discussion of this story with Courant Staff Writer Maryellen Fillo is scheduled to be shown on New England Cable News each half-hour today between 9 a.m. and noon.
Tags: Roberta Mazurek Neil Mazurek
"I'm sorry for the cat," said the Newington woman as she sat with her parents. "But I might be dead now if I didn't do it," she said, contending it was peer pressure and an overdose of over-the-counter cold medicine that prompted the crime. "I'd still be doing drugs and not getting the help I need."
Moments later, as about 40 animal-rights activists protested outside, Mazurek was sentenced to four months in jail and three years of probation.
Mazurek and two friends were charged with beating and drowning the cat, Adonis, at Silver Lake in Berlin in February 2002. Mazurek pleaded guilty last month to one count of animal cruelty, accepting a plea deal the same day that jury selection in her trial was to begin.
The two others, Michael Oziomek and Michael Pajak, also of Newington, are awaiting trial.
Since her arrest, Mazurek has been receiving counseling.
Members of several animal-rights groups and others who have followed Mazurek's court proceedings banded outside the courthouse again Thursday, carrying placards and demanding justice be served and that Mazurek be sent to jail.
"I'm just hoping that what has happened in this case will deter others from abusing animals," said Frank Berti, a New Britain resident who joined the group waving signs reading: "No Animal Deserves Jill," and "Kill an Animal -- Go to Jail."
"Once and for all someone has to demand that those who break the law must pay for it," said Maria Buchanan. "If we condone this behavior by doing nothing when something as innocent as a kitten is tortured to death, what kind of society are we? The cat had no ability to protect itself. No way of speaking out. We are doing it on his behalf."
At previous court appearances, Mazurek was ushered in through a back door to avoid confrontation with protesters. On Thursday, however, she and her parents hurried to the front door but not before protesters noticed them and began yelling "Jail time for Jill."
"When is this going to stop, she has been punished enough," lamented Mazurek's father, Neil Mazurek, as he attempted to soothe his sobbing wife, Roberta Mazurek, while waiting for the proceedings to begin. "My family is constantly being harassed. There has been enough pain."
Roberta Mazurek declined to say anything during the proceedings conducted by Superior Court Judge Susan B. Handy.
"This was a brutal, senseless killing," Handy said, noting that the court received more than 3,000 letters on the case. "This act of brutality was committed by a troubled and mentally ill young woman." Elysia
Handy said that as part of the sentence, Mazurek is prohibited from having any unsupervised contact with pets during the three-year probation. "But you expressed sincere, genuine remorse, and I do feel you want to start a new life," Handy said.
The cat's owner, Catherine Towle, sat in the front row of the courtroom during the sentencing.
"I'm just glad she is getting the help she needs," Towle said after the proceedings. "But it is no relief when you watch a one-time friend go to jail."
Protesters rejoiced when they learned Mazurek was on her way to the state women's prison in Niantic.
"I think my children learned more here today than they would have in school," said Dayle Coutu, a Colchester mother who took her three children out of school to participate in the demonstration.
"When this happened, my oldest daughter asked me why people who hurt animals don't go to jail," said the young mother, who also runs a cat rescue service called Keep Us Purring. "I want my kids to know things are being done."
A discussion of this story with Courant Staff Writer Maryellen Fillo is scheduled to be shown on New England Cable News each half-hour today between 9 a.m. and noon.
Tags: Roberta Mazurek Neil Mazurek
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