Florida man accused of beheading cats, leaving heads on top of mailbox: 'Heinous'
Florida man accused of beheading cats, leaving heads on top of mailbox: 'Heinous'. The KRAK 11 News hour: The World Desk, Criminal Intent, Animals, A Quick Look At Sports. Real stories from named sources, read by Chip Marlowe and Deb Sarkissian.
Aired 2026-08-24 09:47 UTC · 5 segments · 7 min · complete transcript below
Rundown
KRAK 11 NEWS
Good morning. This is the top of the hour on KRAK 11 News at oh-five-hundred hours. I am Chip Marlowe.
I am Deb Sarkissian. Good morning, Wexler County. Here is what is coming up this hour.
Nearly ninety thousand people evacuated overnight as a wildfire closes in on Reno, Nevada. Ten thousand acres burned and completely uncontained. The World Desk has the latest.
Criminal Intent this morning brings you the one hundred and sixty-eighth KRAK 11 Florida Man Tribute. This one happened back in March of last year, and it involves two cats, a mailbox, and felony charges.
We have led with worse.
Animals this morning with When Kindness Goes Both Ways, still number one on the KRAK 11 animal countdown after twenty-five hours. Six and a half million new views in three days.
And A Quick Look At Sports — Pete Crow-Armstrong extended his walk-off RBI streak to fifty-five consecutive games last night, and we have word this morning from an Illinois prison.
Still ahead on The World Desk — the wildfire threatening Reno is moving fast, and the evacuation zone is growing by the hour. We will have the numbers and the timeline when we come back.
THE WORLD DESK
Good morning. You are watching KRAK 11 News.
It is five o'clock in the morning in Wexler County, and we have world news from four continents.
Deb has already corrected me twice in the green room.
Three times.
We begin this morning in Nevada, where nearly ninety thousand people have been ordered to evacuate as a wildfire approaches the city of Reno.
The fire has burned approximately ten thousand five hundred acres and officials say it is completely uncontained. Evacuation orders were issued overnight.
Reno is in the southern part of Nevada, near the California border.
Western. Reno is in western Nevada, near Lake Tahoe.
That is what I said.
You said southern.
I was thinking of Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is also in Nevada.
Exactly. So the wildfire is approaching the western part of the state, where Reno is located.
That is correct.
From the United Kingdom this morning, the country's rarest bird of prey has successfully reared new chicks for the second consecutive year.
The Montagu Harrier nested at a secret location that wildlife officials are not disclosing. Observers confirmed four healthy chicks this week.
That is Scotland, correct?
They are not saying where it is, Chip. That is why it is secret.
But Scotland is known for its rare birds.
The entire United Kingdom is known for birdwatching. The location is being protected so the birds can nest safely.
So it could be anywhere in the UK.
It could.
We have an update on Thames Water. The consortium attempting to take control of the troubled utility has named three proposed directors as it seeks government approval for a bailout.
The three nominees have experience in water management, infrastructure, and government relations. The creditors are building a board ahead of what would be one of the largest utility restructurings in UK history.
Thames Water serves London.
London and the Thames Valley. About fifteen million people.
Which is the majority of England.
About a quarter of England.
A significant portion.
It is.
If you are watching on YouTube, subscribing genuinely helps. We are a small station and it costs you nothing.
We are glad you are here.
Still ahead this morning, CRIMINAL INTENT. A story out of Crystal Palace that involves a contract dispute, a transfer window, and a striker who says his paperwork does not match what he signed.
Jean-Philippe Mateta says his contract runs longer than the club claims. The window closes in four days.
CRIMINAL INTENT is next.
CRIMINAL INTENT
Good morning. This is the Blotter.
We have two tributes this morning.
From the archive.
The Florida Man Archive, which we refresh weekly.
We begin this morning with the one hundred and sixty-ninth KRAK 11 Florida Man Tribute in forty-three weeks. Back in March of last year, a Tampa man stole a pair of boots from a Florida Keys business.
When deputies arrived, the suspect fled on foot through murky water, attempted to hide in mangroves, and was ultimately found clinging to a pylon in the bay.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office says he was arrested without further incident.
The boots were recovered at the scene.
Dry, one would hope.
In Pinellas County, also back in March of last year, a fifty-two-year-old man is facing two counts of animal cruelty after deputies say he killed two cats and placed their severed heads in a box on top of a mailbox.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office called the acts heinous. The suspect was arrested and charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty.
That case is proceeding through the Florida court system.
That was the one hundred and sixty-ninth Florida Man Tribute.
In forty-three weeks.
Florida is a gift to local news.
It is the most reliably strange state in the union.
We have a file on the server marked Florida Man Archive and it never runs empty.
Coming up in a few minutes, the Animal Countdown. When Kindness Goes Both Ways has now led that countdown for twenty-five hours straight.
Six million six hundred and fifty-two thousand new views in three days. That video is approaching something historic.
Animals, in just a moment.
ANIMALS
Good morning. It is five o'clock and this is KRAK 11 News.
Three animal videos, ranked by how many views they gained in the last three days. Not total views — growth.
Counted down from three to one.
Number three. Woman Kicks Seal Off Her Boat. Posted by guipascale on the sixteenth of August. Two million seven hundred and sixty-one thousand two hundred and sixty-six new views in the last three days.
Number two. Fisherman Found This Heron Fighting For Its Life. Posted by Sassy on the twenty-first of August. Four million seven hundred and twenty-one thousand one hundred and five new views.
And number one. When Kindness Goes Both Ways. Posted by Windypaws on the twentieth of August. Six million six hundred and eighty-seven thousand nine hundred and sixty-two new views in the last three days.
That is twenty-six hours at number one.
It is.
All three are on the KRAK 11 News Reel and the link is in the description.
Still ahead this morning, a quick look at sports. Pete Crow-Armstrong has now walked off fifty-five games in a row, and we have the only angle that matters.
We do.
A QUICK LOOK AT SPORTS
A quick look at sports.
We have chess, we have motor racing, and we have Pete Crow-Armstrong making history again.
Fifty-five straight games.
Magnus Carlsen successfully defended his classical world chess title this morning in Dubai, defeating Hikaru Nakamura in six games. The match went to tiebreakers after drawing four of the regulation games.
Valentino Rossi won his farewell race at Mugello yesterday, finishing nearly eight seconds ahead of the field. It was his final competitive ride at the Italian circuit.
And Pete Crow-Armstrong extended his walk-off RBI streak to fifty-five consecutive games last night as the Cubs beat the White Sox, four to three in the tenth inning.
Still ahead this morning - the next KRAK 11 News, at the top of the hour. We will have the latest from Reno as evacuation orders remain in effect for nearly ninety thousand people.
That is the KRAK 11 Scoreboard. We will see you at the top of the hour.
Reporting behind this episode
- Nearly 90,000 told to evacuate as wildfire approaches Reno, Nevada
- Thames Water creditors build board for bailout bid
- UK's rarest bird of prey rears new chicks in secret location
- Florida man accused of beheading cats, leaving heads on top of mailbox: 'Heinous'
- Tampa man steals boots, traipses through murky water, clings to pylon in the Keys trying to avoid arrest: MCSO
- When Kindness Goes Both Ways.
- Fisherman Found This Heron Fighting For Its Life
- Woman Kicks Seal Off Her Boat