Teacher Accused of Killing His Kittens to Feel 'Powerful'

Counselors were made available to students at a Houston-area school after news broke that a former teacher at the school had been arrested for killing his kittens. Graham William Reid, 29, is said to have had four kittens named Cabbage, Parsnip, Carrot, and Broccoli, and investigators say all met brutal ends between the ages of a few months and one year. Reid, who previously taught geometry at Ridge Point High School but is no longer employed by Texas' Fort Bend ISD, is accused of using a metal bar, a cat scratching post, and a litter box scooper to beat the animals to death, allegedly telling investigators he did so to feel "powerful" in periods when he was stressed. He also reportedly said he had been bullied as a child.

ABC13 reports a tip placed to an animal cruelty task force led police to Reid, who was arrested April 28 and charged with four counts of felony cruelty to non-livestock animals. He posted a $25,000 bond that same day. Students tell the Houston Chronicle he was at work April 29 but gone the next day. "The principal came into school and said he had quit for unknown reasons. We never got any more info from the school besides that since then," one student says. Reid, of Sugar Land, has a June 14 court date. (More animal cruelty stories.)