February trial set for man accused of killing kittens

Published 6:30 am Saturday, January 27, 2018

A Feb. 5 trial date has been scheduled for an Athens man accused in 2013 of buying and killing kittens he said he bought on Craigslist.

Ronald Fraser Golden, 52, of 106 Bullington Road, is charged with 22 counts of animal cruelty and faces one year in jail on each of the Class C felony counts if convicted.

Subpoenas have been issued to witnesses in the case, court records show.

Jury selection, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5, is typically held throughout the morning and the jury breaks for lunch before hearing opening arguments in the case.

Lucas Beaty of Athens, Golden’s court-appointed defense attorney, said Friday he could not comment on the case before the trial.

District Attorney Brian Jones and Deputy District Attorney James Ayers Jr. will try the case for the prosecution.

The case had been assigned to Circuit Judge Chadwick Wise after Circuit Judge Jimmy Woodroof Jr. retired, but Wise had a conflict and had to recuse, so Circuit Judge Robert Baker will hear the case.

The case

On Sept. 24, 2013, Athens police received a report of dead kitten carcasses found in the area of Bullington Road, Chief Floyd Johnson said at the time. During the investigation, police received an anonymous tip that Golden was killing the kittens.

Lt. Chris Slaton and Sgt. Johnny Campbell interviewed Golden on Sept. 30, at which time he told investigators he had a “cat room” where he would kill the kittens, Johnson said.

Investigators obtained consent from Golden to search his property and found five dead kittens in a brushy area at the back of his property, Slaton said.

Two kittens named Melvin and Mia and two dogs were found alive, and Slaton said Golden took care of the dogs.

“Investigators searched the inside of the home and found blood spatter on the walls and floor,” Johnson said.

Slaton said Golden told investigators he was “angry at the world” and had been killing the kittens since July 2013.

Before his arrest, Golden was held for evaluation by a state mental health officer and the Limestone County Probate Court and then released, at which time police arrested him on the charges.

Golden has been free on $22,000 bond since his initial arrest.

Beaty has asked the court to have the Alabama Department of Mental Health perform an evaluation on Golden.