The Philadelphia animal rescue community is in mourning after a well known animal rescuer was allegedly murdered by a 14-year-old girl.
According to local authorities, Al Chernoff, a 59-year-old Army veteran and animal rescuer (above), was found beaten to death and partially bound in his bed last week.
His alleged killer, whose name has not been revealed by officials, is in custody after being observed on surveillance video wandering around inside the man’s home on the day of the murder. She’s been charged with murder, robbery, tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice, and possession of an instrument of crime.
Investigators say Chernoff was discovered dead in his bed early Tuesday morning. They believe he was killed Monday night in an attack that involved him being physically assaulted and slashed in the chest.
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Authorities later released footage of the suspect walking around the vet’s home before washing her hands in the kitchen sink and browsing his refrigerator. She turned herself in to police on Thursday, and remains in custody without bail.
One of the teen’s attorneys, Howard Taylor, told CNN she is currently in juvenile detention — and he insinuated the situation was even worse than police were letting on, telling the outlet:
“It’s a very sad situation. Troubled girl. There’s a reason police aren’t saying much. There’s a lot more to it.”
When asked if the girl was a victim, the attorney said he “wouldn’t put it to that extent,” but claimed that Chernoff “wasn’t totally innocent, either.”
As of now, police haven’t revealed the connection between the two, why the teen was in the vet’s home in the first place, or how he wound up bound to the bed. So, one could only deduce what the lawyer may or may not be alluding to.
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Either way, the murder has rocked the community Chernoff was part of for years: the vet was known as an active animal rescuer, and had nearly a dozen cats at the time of his death, in addition to several turtles and frogs.
The victim’s friend, Angelo Ruffo, praised Chernoff for his generosity and kindness, telling NBC10:
“Al was literally like one of the best people I’ve ever met. Anything you needed he would do. He was known for building shelters for all the feral and stray cats in the city. He was a good man.”
Chernoff went by the nickname “Alley Cat,” which he also used as the name of his one-man cat rescue operation. He appeared on the NATGeoTV reality show Rescue Ink about tattooed bikers campaigning against animal abuse.
Our hearts go out to Chernoff’s loved ones and animals as we wait for more details about his brutal murder to come out.
[Image via Facebook]
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