Batavia woman charged with stealing cat

A Batavia woman blamed for the disappearance of her next-door neighbor's cat was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor theft.

Brenda Scharlau, 55, of the 100 block of North Harrison Street, is accused of luring 9-year-old Linus into a trap and abandoning the feline west of town in late May. Police say Scharlau did not like the cat because it "captured and killed" birds and chipmunks.

"There's no such thing as justice in this unless we strip her of all her possessions and leave her somewhere," the cat owner, Jody Lay, said.

Scharlau, who has an Aug. 11 court date, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. She could be sentenced to less than a year in jail, court supervision and fines if convicted.

Linus had been missing for several weeks when Lay requested a police investigation June 9 after other neighbors told her Scharlau admitted at a party to abducting the cat and leaving it in the Virgil Township or Lily Lake areas. Police say Scharlau has "emphatically denied any involvement."

Initially, both felony and misdemeanor charges were pending against Scharlau, according to police. But the more serious charges were rejected due to a lack of evidence, the state's attorney's office said.

On Tuesday, Lay said she was "kind of disappointed" Scharlau was not charged with animal cruelty, but was nonetheless pleased the case is being taken seriously.

"I was really worried it was going to get tossed to the wayside, but police did a good job following up," she said. "It's just unfortunate they couldn't prove any more."

Linus, a gray American shorthair cat with four white paws and a microchip ID, was last seen about May 28 and remains missing. Lay said numerous people have called with possible sightings since the Daily Herald first reported the story a little more than two weeks ago. The calls came from as close as Campton Hills and Maple Park to as far away as Wheaton.

"I've had a lot of people calling, saying, 'I think I saw him.' But nobody can catch him," she said. "Both of the Wheaton calls were longshots, but we followed up on them. It's hard to think like a cat. What if he followed the train tracks?"

To report information on Linus' whereabouts, call (630) 406-9013.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=303202">Police: Batavia catnappping case 'in limbo' <span class="date">[06/27/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=300320">Charges pending against Batavia woman for swiping cat <span class="date">[06/12/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>