Winchester Man Will Plead Guilty To Mother's Murder, If Cats' Names Added To Indictment

WOBURN (CBS) - A man who admits to killing his mother and his cats wants to plead guilty, but he has an unusual request.

Matthew McAveeney, 46, is charged with beating his 70-year-old mother to death last October in her Winchester apartment. He was captured in North Carolina after a week-long manhunt.

McAveeney is charged with murder, assault and battery on a person 60 years of age or older, and two counts of cruelty to animals.

During a hearing Wednesday in Woburn Superior Court, he told the judge he plans to plead guilty, but he wants the names of the two dead cats added to his indictment.

"The animals are, were, living beings. They had lives, they had personalities, they had identities and if I'm going to be convicted of killing them, I would like them to be known for what they were, you know, who they were, by their names," McAveeney said in court.

The judge is going to allow that, but she ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation before she accepts his guilty plea.

McAveeney will be held without bail until his next scheduled hearing on February 17.