A Philadelphia-area woman has been charged with animal cruelty after police allege videos she posted show her torturing and killing animals while soliciting encouragement on social media.
Anigar Monsee, 28, of Upper Darby, was charged with four felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals — torture, according to Delaware County court records.
Monsee Seen Torturing, Killing Frogs, Rabbits, Chickens for Likes
During the investigation, police found that Monsee would stream herself on YouTube live while encouraging viewers to like the video in order for her to begin her performance.
Once the likes started coming in, investigators said, the 27-year-old would start torturing the animals before slaughtering them. In August, she tortured a pigeon and cut its head off, with those watching the 49-minute feed praising her and making requests for future content, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In viewing her YouTube account, detectives found that Monsee uploaded three other videos in the last year in which she tortures animals including frogs, a rabbit and a chicken, the affidavit said. All of the videos purport to be about cooking the animals, but police say the way Monsee handled and abused them went well beyond preparing them for a recipe.
The latest video, called Cooking Lucky, was uploaded Jan. 17, and depicts Monsee torturing a chicken for 10 minutes, according to the affidavit. Toward the end of the video, she steps on the bird and kills it by slitting its throat with a dull knife.
Other videos show her cutting the animals and scalding them with hot water, the affidavit said. In a video from September, she disembowels a frog while singing "Happy Death Day," to the tune of "Happy Birthday."
PETA Filed the Complaint After Identifying Her Using Clues from Monsee's Videos
Monsee was arrested late Friday, after police were contacted by representatives from PETA. The animal activist group used clues and background details in some of Monsee's other videos, including a tour of her then-new house in Upper Darby, to determine her identity and where she lives, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed for her arrest.
Monsee told police in an interview that she is the person depicted in the videos, and that the account that posted them belongs to her, the affidavit said. As police played the four videos in front of her she "became visibly upset," particularly of the one with a rabbit, and asked for them to be turned off.
Monsee remained in custody on $20,000 bail in Delaware County prison pending a Feb. 5 preliminary hearing, authorities said.
