Cornelius woman arrested after 14 dead cats found in suitcase

Police arrested a Cornelius woman after a worker in her apartment complex found a small suitcase with 14 dead kittens and cats inside.

Aimee Elizabeth Cook, 41, is charged with 14 felony counts of animal cruelty. She was freed from the Mecklenburg County jail early Wednesday after posting the $14,000 bail, jail records show.

At about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, police were dispatched to the One Norman Square apartments, where an employee told them he’d found the suitcase near a dumpster.

The suitcase was outside Cook’s apartment, and the employee recognized one of the dead felines as Cook’s, police said.

Police said Cook told them she was overwhelmed by the kittens and cats “due to recent unplanned litters.”

Cook told police she tried to move the felines to no-kill shelters but was unsuccessful and euthanized them. Authorities said Cook never contacted the Cornelius Animal Shelter.

Cook could not be immediately reached Wednesday.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 12:36 PM with the headline "Cornelius woman arrested after 14 dead cats found in suitcase."