Cops Say North Dakota Man Upset His Girlfriend Stayed Out Late Killed Kitten in Microwave; Warned: ‘That Would Happen to Her Next’

A North Dakota man has been arrested after allegedly subjecting his girlfriend's pet kitten to gruesome torture and death following an alleged domestic incident, according to authorities.

On Sept. 3, police were called to a home in Fargo after a woman reported that her boyfriend, 23-year-old Carlos Perez, became upset with her because she was at work too late and he needed to use her phone, Valley News Live reported.

The victim said the dispute escalated and became physical, with Perez allegedly slapping her in the face and cutting her lip, police said.

Court records state Perez then tried to lock the victim in a closet, but she was able to kick the door open, which then hit Perez in the face and made him angrier. She then tried to call 911 but he grabbed the phone and broke it, the documents show.

According to police, the woman said Perez grew agitated when she didn't return home within what he considered a suitable time frame. He then photographed himself holding her cat over a lit stove burner.

Officials say that Perez later took the same kitten into the bathroom and used a speaker to strike it on the head. When the kitten began to experience a seizure, he attempted to strangle it, court documents state.

The girlfriend informed law enforcement that when Perez was unable to end the kitten's suffering, he resorted to burning its paw with a lighter and ultimately placed the animal in the microwave, killing it.

Perez then threw the kitten’s remains in a nearby dumpster and threatened the woman, stating “that would happen to her next,” according to court records, Valley News Live reported.

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The girlfriend told police she and Perez have been involved in two other domestic violence incidents over the last couple weeks, Valley News Live reported. She claimed Perez allegedly has threatened to kill her and her family in the past, which, she alleged, is why she hadn’t previously reported him.

Perez was arrested and charged with felony counts of aggravated assault, terrorizing and animal cruelty as well as two misdemeanor counts of domestic violence and one misdemeanor count of interference with an emergency call, officials said.

His bond was set at $20,000 and he was ordered to not be around pets or in the same room as pets.