JOSHUA TAYLOR, aka MORIAH TAYLOR, sentenced in animal cruelty case for causing the death of two kittens and harming a third

- New York, USA -

The Erie County District Attorney’s Office announced that on May 12, 2026, 39-year-old JOSHUA TAYLOR, also known as MORIAH TAYLOR (pictured), of Hamburg, appeared in Erie County Court and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of attempted aggravated cruelty to animals.

TAYLOR entered a guilty plea to the reduced charge in full satisfaction of the indictment.

The case dates back to the evening of January 17, 2024, when a woman called the Town of Hamburg Police Department after she was unable to get in touch with TAYLOR, her ex-partner. The woman stated she had not been able to hear from him for several hours and she expressed concern for him, for two adult cats, and three kittens who were all inside her apartment.

Officers were then dispatched to the 4500 block of Southwestern Boulevard to conduct a welfare check and received consent from the woman to search the apartment.

Inside the apartment, officers only found the two adult cats. TAYLOR and the kittens were not there.

As the officers continued to search, they discovered the three kittens “inside of a pillowcase that was buried in the snow on the balcony of the apartment”, stated the press release by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office.

A short time later, officers located TAYLOR in a nearby parking lot.

Police took the three kittens to the Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center. A veterinarian sadly found two of the three kittens lifeless. The third kitten was found alive inside of a zipped bag inside the pillowcase.

The two deceased kittens were sent to Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine for necropsy. The results showed that the kittens died from asphyxiation and/or hypothermia. 

The surviving kitten was in critical condition. She was suffering from hypothermia and/or asphyxiation. She later recovered and was adopted by the veterinarian at the Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center.

With regard to the kittens, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office tells me: “The three kittens, who did not have names, were approximately 2-months-old and weighed approximately 2 pounds each. The two deceased kittens were a black male kitten and a black female kitten. The surviving kitten was a female brown tabby. We did not receive the name of the kitten after the adoption.”

Erie County DA Michael J. Keane said that at the request of the People, Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi imposed a securing order that prohibits TAYLOR “from owning, harboring, or having custody or control of any animals for the next three years.” Additionally, TAYLOR was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge.

###

Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from the press release by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. Please note that details may be removed or new information added should updates become available.

For more animal cruelty stories, please click here. Thank you!