In March 2025, public reports said Gabriel Skyler Caswell of Weatherford, Texas, received a total 40-year prison sentence after convictions involving abuse and killing of kittens while he worked at the Weatherford Parker County Animal Shelter. The case began after an unusual rise in kitten deaths in 2023; a coworker found Caswell harming a kitten, and police then reviewed shelter surveillance video. Reports said Caswell was convicted in 15 non-livestock animal cruelty cases, involving nine kittens who died and six who survived. People and the San Antonio Express-News both reported that surveillance evidence was central to the case.

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Intentional harm inside a shelter

The case is especially painful because the setting was a shelter, a place where animals should have received protection. Public reporting says Caswell worked as an animal care technician, while investigators and prosecutors relied on extensive surveillance evidence documenting direct violence against kittens.

From unexplained deaths to video evidence

In 2023, shelter staff noticed an unusual increase in kitten deaths. The turning point came when another employee walked in while Caswell was harming a kitten. Weatherford police reviewed video, obtained an arrest warrant and investigators continued reviewing surveillance footage.

Convictions and sentence

The San Antonio Express-News reported that Caswell was convicted in 15 cruelty-to-non-livestock-animal cases, involving nine kittens who died and six who survived. Judge Craig Towson of the 43rd State District Court ordered the sentences stacked, producing a total of 40 years. People also reported that Caswell pleaded guilty to 12 additional animal-cruelty counts after earlier related sentences.

Why this is recorded

This was not ordinary neglect. It was repeated direct violence by someone in a care role against very vulnerable animals. This archive records the case to remember the kittens harmed inside a place meant for safety, and to document how a coworker's discovery, police evidence review and prosecution stopped continuing abuse.

Timeline

• 2023: The Weatherford Parker County Animal Shelter saw an unusual increase in kitten deaths.
• July 2023: A coworker found Caswell harming a kitten; police became involved and reviewed surveillance video.
• 2024: Related cases moved through trial and sentencing in stages.
• March 18, 2025: Caswell pleaded guilty to the remaining 12 counts; media reported a total 40-year sentence.
• March 20-22, 2025: People and the San Antonio Express-News reported the sentencing outcome.

Public sources

• People: Texas man sentenced after abusing and killing cats at animal shelter
• San Antonio Express-News: Weatherford shelter kitten torture sentence