EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Convicted cat killer Anthony Stravato is back behind bars after officials say he violated the terms of his probation.

The police picked up Stravato, 25, at his residence, the Rumford Inn, 400 Newport Ave., just after 7 p.m. Wednesday after the attorney general obtained a warrant charging him with violating the terms of his release. He had served time for mutilating and killing his mother's cat "Cuddles" and a rat in East Providence, and also for sending disturbing messages about mutilating animals and obscene photos to an underage girl in Warren, according to Lt. Thomas Rush.

Stravato was charged as a probation violator because he failed to appear for mental health and probation appointments on Aug. 24, according to Amy P. Kempe, spokeswoman for Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin. He is being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions without bail pending a court review on Sept. 1.

About two weeks ago, the state issued an unusual warning to animal shelters and the public, saying they believed that he would kill again, and that he or his girlfriend, Alyssa LaMountain, 20, of Warren, may try to adopt or buy animals.

Stravato was released on Aug. 5 from the Adult Correctional Institutions after serving at least eight months. He is prohibited by court order from having any contact with animals, but LaMountain is not. Stravato is a registered Level 3 sex offender, considered most likely to reoffend.

At the time of his arrest in 2014, Stravato's mother told East Providence police that he had a history of mental illness and had been institutionalized before. His father is a retired Providence police officer, Louis Stravato, who was a competitor on "The Amazing Race" series on CBS.

LaMountain was charged Aug. 9 with charges including stealing gravestones from a cemetery in Warren. She is also under investigation after Warren police found animal bones in a glass jar and wooden box at her house at 6 Greenhouse Court, according to an affidavit file in District Court accompanying a search warrant.

A witness told Warren police that LaMountain had talked about cruel things that she and Stravato did to cats, and that she used an ax that she kept in her bedroom, according to the affidavit. The witness said he found cat paws inside a ziplock bag inside the mini-refrigerator in her bedroom, the affidavit said.

LaMountain is free on $2,000 surety bail pending an Oct. 18 court date.

—pparker@providencejournal.com

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