Free Republic

A Florida woman was arrested on animal cruelty charges and other counts after allegedly killing another woman’s pet spider by drowning it in a fizzy drink. Ilena Rasmussen, 43, faces counts of animal cruelty and petty theft after ending the life of a jumping spider in a situation that resulted in her being charged on July 29. According to The Miami Herald, Rasmussen’s roommate was the first to notice something wrong, and potentially criminal, had occurred. On July 15, the roommate arrived home to find her pet spider and its enclosure missing entirely.

A Florida woman has been charged with drowning her roommate’s tiny pet spider in a can of soda — later bragging about it online, writing: “Yes I’m an evil spider killer!!” Ilena Renae Rasmussen, 43, was arrested on July 29 after texting her roommate and “admitting to drowning [her] jumping spider in ginger ale,” the Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office wrote in an affidavit obtained by the Miami Herald. She then repeatedly referred to the accusations in a series of cruel social media posts — including a photo of her holding a can of ginger ale, just like the one she allegedly...