Siberian woman kills husband to protect cat

The RIA Novosti news agency reported that Russian investigators in Buryatia republic in East Siberia launched a criminal investigation against a woman who allegedly killed her husband after he threatened her cat.          

Investigators said that the 56-year-old woman and her husband were drinking alcohol when they began arguing over the cat, which had moved to their livestock farm after its owner from a nearby farm died.          

The woman wanted to take care of the cat, while her husband did not agree and had often tried to scare it away. The row over the cat came to a head when the husband tried to kill the pet with a rake.                

“In a move to protect the animal, the woman seized the rake from his hands and then snatched a knife from the table in a fit of rage, and stabbed the man three times in the chest,” a spokesman for the Investigative Committee said.                  

The woman faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted of murder. Psychologists are trying to determine whether the woman acted in the heat of passion, which could see the charge changed to manslaughter.