Oak Harbor man arrested after necropsy finds cats died from abuse

A call to Best Friends Veterinary Clinic on State Route 20 in Oak Harbor turned into a felony animal-cruelty case after two 10-month-old cats were brought in dead with injuries that did not fit a simple accident. The cats, Francisco and Mila, were later identified as belonging to Kristian Rokita’s live-in girlfriend, and investigators said the first signs pointed to something far more serious than a household mishap.

Rokita, 25, told police he heard a crash after his girlfriend left for work and then heard the cats squealing, gagging and struggling. He said he later found them dead in the living room of the Larkspur Drive home. The case quickly moved from the Oak Harbor Police Department to the Island County Sheriff’s Office after officers realized the residence was in county jurisdiction. At least one officer, one detective and two animal-control officers worked the investigation, with deputies and at least one agent from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service later helping with the arrest.

What made the case stand out was the forensic trail. Clinic staff found rolled pieces of a foil cat toy lodged in the cats’ throats, but investigators noted it would be unusual for two healthy cats to choke on the same toy in the same way at the same time. A necropsy the next day found blood in the abdominal cavities, fractures and lacerations to the liver, and hemorrhaging in several organs. The completed necropsy report, received March 17, concluded that both cats died from blunt-force trauma and asphyxiation.

Rokita was taken into custody March 26 and booked into Island County Jail on two counts of first-degree animal cruelty. In Island County Superior Court, his attorney, Craig Platt of Coupeville, challenged the arrest and probable-cause finding, while prosecutor Greg Banks argued for detention. Judge Carolyn Cliff found probable cause and set bail at $10,000 bond or $2,500 cash.

Washington’s first-degree animal-cruelty law, a class C felony, covers intentionally inflicting substantial pain, causing physical injury or killing an animal by means that cause undue suffering or show extreme indifference to life. It also reaches criminal negligence that starves, dehydrates or suffocates an animal and causes substantial suffering or death. For Oak Harbor residents, the case is a stark reminder that suspicious animal deaths can move from a neighborhood home to a criminal file fast, especially when forensic evidence points to abuse rather than accident.