New Jersey homeowner finds dead cat inside family mailbox in Cranford

Toni Yates Image
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
New Jersey homeowner finds dead cat inside her mailbox
A NJ family found a dead cat inside their mailbox in Cranford earlier this week and now police need help tracking down whoever put it there.

CRANFORD, New Jersey (WABC) -- A woman found a dead cat inside her mailbox earlier this week and now police need help tracking down whoever put it there.

The cat was found in a family's mailbox in front of their home on Collins Street.

"I walked over to the door and my grandma was like, 'there's a cat in the mailbox,' so I walked outside and I was like 'oh my gosh,' thinking it would be a baby kitten, like someone left a stray cat, and it was dead," Brianna Alexo said.

New surveillance video captured the person that police believe put it there and now they are asking for the public's help.

"We have an individual walking up to the house with the deceased cat in his hand, in his right hand, he walks up and places it directly in the mailbox and slowly walks away," Cranford Police Department Det. Lt. John Swandrak said.

It appears the animal may have been dead for a while as if it had possibly been hit by a car or killed by a wild animal.

Just in case, police are coming the nearby Mohawk Park to make sure there are no signs of any animal cruelty incidents.

Police and the family want to know why it happened and why them.

"Why some random person would just walk up to my house, and even on the video when you look at him, he was very confident about where he was walking and very confident when he walked up the driveway to our house," Cheryl Saladino said.

Police are trying to collect as much surveillance video as possible to figure out where the suspect ended up and who he is.

ALSO READ | Elderly dog euthanized hours after escaping from owner's yard in Queens

A Queens dog owner is speaking out after her French poodle mix ran out of her yard in Briarwood, Queens and was euthanized by ACC that day. Michelle Charlesworth has the story.

----------

* Get Eyewitness News Delivered

* More New Jersey news

* Send us a news tip

* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts

* Follow us on YouTube

Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News

Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.