SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SERIAL CAT TORTURE CASE

December 2008 Update

Kooyman was charged with one count of recklessly causing a fire.  He was charged with six felony counts of animal cruelty.  In San Bernardio County for the cat he set on fire plus two that were found in his truck still alive on the sealed plastic container.  In Riverside County for torturing and killing three other cats in a motel room.  

In July 2008 a San Bernardino County Judge dismissed the three charges of animal cruelty for the motel room torturing because those crimes occurred in Riverside County.

San Bernardino County Deputy D.A. Debbie Ploghous said she is not offering Kooyman any plea deals on the remaining charges. 

Kooyman has been held in custody since May on $150,000 bail. We expect a trial date to be set for sometime in early 2009. We will let you know when the trial date has been set. The trial date will be the deadline for submitting all petitions to Voices for Pets. We will present the petitions to the judge on the day of sentencing. Please continue gathering as many signatures as you can.

Riverside County Case Status

Here is some detailed information about the three Riverside County charges that were dismissed in San
Bernardino County.

In April 2008 Kooyman “allegedly” committed more crimes in his motel room at the National Inn in Riverside County, by mutilating and killing three cats, a calico, a black and white, and a Siamese.

Kooyman told police he broke the cat’s legs, ran one over with his truck, decapitated another with an ax, and after a failed attempt at drowning the third, he cut it repeatedly with a razor knife, according to police reports.

Motel staff told deputies a maid found a large amount of blood and fur while cleaning Kooyman’s room including inside the mini-refrigerator.

Corona Animal control was called to pick up the three dead cats found in a plastic bag in an alley near the motel. The bodies were not taken to a veterinarian for examination. Evidence was not preserved. At that time there was no investigation by Animal Control or Corona police and Kooyman was not arrested.

It is the responsibility of Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco to bring charges against Kooyman for the torture and killings of the three cats in his motel room.

It is true that there was no investigation at the time of the crimes. It is also true that Kooyman was registered to the room where the blood and fur was found. It is true that the bodies of three mutilated cats were found in an alley near the motel. It is true that Kooyman confessed to the torturing and killings.

We are asking for your help. Please contact Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco and ask him to start his own investigation of the April 23, 2008, torture and killings of the three cats in Kooyman’s motel room. Ask him to charge Kooyman under the California Three-Strikes Law and put this repeat sadistic killer away for 25 years to life, before he turns his sadism on other defenseless victims including women, and children.

You can reach District Attorney Rod Pacheco by writing, fax, or email:
4075 Main Street, Riverside, CA 92501 • Fax 951-955-9480
e-mail rodpacheco@co.riverside.ca.us

Additional Information on Timothy Kooyman’s Background

Some background from interviews of people who have known Kooyman over the years, I was told that Kooyman was into starting fires and making bombs. His father had a collection of guns and supplied Kooyman with fireworks. Kooyman would tape four M80’s together to make the equivalent of a stick of dynamite. He would fill a coke bottle with gunpowder and seal the opening with a firecracker to make a homemade bomb. In high school R.O.T.C. he bragged that his instructors were teaching him better ways to make weapons and bombs.

In April of 2007, Kooyman told someone at an Albertson’s grocery store in the city of Upland that a bomb had been placed in the store. Because no bomb was ever found Kooyman was only charged with a misdemeanor of making a false bomb report and given 12 days time served and probation in exchange for his guilty plea.

In November 2007 Kooyman was living in an apartment in the city of Upland in San Bernardino County. Neighbors said they repeatedly heard a cat screaming over a four-day period and saw Kooyman through a window hit and choke the cat. Finally a neighbor called animal control.

When Animal Control Officer Jennifer Calderon responded, she spoke to a male (later identified as Kooyman) and noticed that he was acting strange. She left the apartment to call the Upland Police Department for back up. While waiting for officers to arrive she heard a cat screaming from Kooyman’s bathroom window.

When back up officers arrived, Calderon again made contact with Kooyman. Kooyman denied hurting the cat and said, “The cat hit itself.”
Calderon said when she examined the cat, “The cats ears were laid back. The cat’s tail was between its legs and the cat was urinating on
itself. The cat had lacerations and blood around its nose and mouth area.”

Kooyman was charged with animal cruelty, and in a plea-bargain his previous probation from the bomb
threat was reinstated. He was released at that time back into the community to continue his sadism against
defenseless victims including the current cases.

Two Things You Can Do To Help Obtain Justice For The Victims

Remember, please continue gathering as many signatures as you can for the petition. We will present the petitions to the judge on the day of sentencing.

Please contact the Riverside District Attorney.
Thank you for your support.
Leroy Moyer - Director
Voices for Pets
925-685-5388
P.O. Box 30836 • Walnut Creek, CA 94598
www.voicesforpets.org

August 2008

On May 13, 2008 in Rancho Cucamonga, California, Timothy Kooyman lured two neighborhood pet cats with an opened can of cat food. Kooyman grabbed the cats and put them in a plastic storage container. He broke all the legs on both cats. After driving around for awhile, he parked his truck and proceeded to cut the tails off both cats with scissors. He then stabbed one of the cats in the eye and slit the throat of the other. When law enforcement arrived, they found both cats still alive, covered with blood, and gasping for air in the sealed plastic container.

Kooyman admitted to torturing a different cat earlier the same day by breaking her legs, cutting off her tail, dousing her with gasoline, and setting her on fire while she was still alive. The torture and killing resulted in a hillside brush fire.

Twenty-four year-old Kooyman has been charged in the San Bernardino County Superior Court with three counts of animal cruelty, and one count of recklessly causing a fire of a structure or forest. At the time of his arrest, he was already on probation for a similar crime he committed in November, 2007 in Upland, California.
Timothy Kooyman

We do not have enough room in this letter to describe the entire, troubling chronology of Kooyman's pattern of abuse and torture. Kooyman is in jail at this time. We don't know for how long. Interestingly, the Judge raised bail from $50,000 to $150,000! A Pre-Trial Hearing is scheduled in the Rancho Cucamonga courthouse for Friday, August 29, 2008.

In the meantime, you can help obtain justice for the victims in several ways. Please contact the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office concerning this case. Let your voice be heard by writing, calling, faxing, or emailing at the contact information listed below. Ask the District Attorney to please prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law. Advise them that you believe Kooyman is most definitely a danger to society. His victims were absolutely defenseless. Also, please request that a copy of your letter or email be attached to his probation report. Recommend that no plea bargain be allowed that does not include felony conviction on all counts. In your correspondence to the District Attorney, please make sure to include the following reference information:

Name of the defendant - Timothy Kooyman.
Court case number - FWV 801497.

Contact information for The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office:

Michael A. Ramos, District Attorney
316 N. Mountain View Avenue
San Bernardino, CA 92415
909-387-8309 (Office)     909-387-6313(Fax)     da@da.sbcounty.gov

Another way you can help is by collecting signatures on the enclosed petition. We don’t know what turns the case will take. However, the more signatures we can gather, the better. We will use them as leverage with the judge at the sentencing when that date is set later on in the judicial process. Please complete the petitions and mail them back to Voices for Pets. Remember to include your return address on the envelope, so that we will be able to send you updates as the case progresses. Since the sentencing date is the final deadline for completing petitions, please continue to gather signatures and send us those petitions until we let you know the actual sentencing date. Please feel free to photocopy blank petitions or call us for additional copies.

Lastly, there is one more thing you can do to help.  There were three additional counts of animal cruelty previously charged against Timothy Kooyman by the San Bernardino County District Attorney. However, those particular counts were discharged by the Judge on July 1, 2008, because the crimes actually occurred in the neighboring county of Riverside, which is out of jurisdiction. All we know at this time is that Kooyman tortured three cats at a motel in Corona, CA on April 23, 2008.  We would like to have justice served in this matter as well.

Please contact the Riverside County DA and ask that his office bring charges against Timothy Kooyman for the torture of three cats in Corona, CA on April 23, 2008.

Rod Pacheco. District Attorney
4075 Main Street
Riverside, CA  92501
951-955-5400 (Office)

We look forward to your support in this case, and thank you..

Robyn L. Hunt, Southern California Representative      
Voices for Pets
925-685-5388
P.O. Box 30836
Walnut Creek, CA 94598