Chaska's Michael Trudeau allegedly bit girlfriend's ear off, burned her cat to death

Michael Trudeau, a 51-year-old Chaska resident, faces multiple felonies -- including assault, terroristic threats, and animal cruelty -- for allegedly being unspeakably cruel to his girlfriend and her cat.

According to a criminal complaint, around 8:45 p.m. last Sunday, officers were summoned to 135 Crosstown Boulevard in Chaska on a report of a domestic assault. Upon arrival, officers encountered a visibly shaken, bloody 42-year-old woman in the building's lobby.

The woman told authorities that her boyfriend of roughly two years, Trudeau, had come over to her apartment that afternoon and had spent the day drinking vodka.

At some point, the two started arguing about their relationship. The woman said the argument escalated to the point where Trudeau put her in a headlock. She had a hard time breathing and at one point heard Trudeau tell her, "I'm trained to kill the enemy. You're the enemy."

According to the woman, Trudeau subsequently choked her until she passed out, slammed her face into the ground, gouged her eyes, shoved an umbrella down her throat, and told her, "You're going to die tonight, and they're not going to know what happened because I'll kill myself afterwards."

At one point, the woman was able to bite Trudeau's finger. In retaliation, Trudeau bit off a portion of the woman's ear. (Despite five hours of surgery, doctors were unable to reattach it.)

The woman was eventually able to escape the apartment and call police. The complaint says that when officers entered the apartment, Trudeau "refused to obey commands" and appeared to be looking around for a weapon.

An officer "tased [Trudeau] and the officers were able to put him in handcuffs," the complaint continues. "The defendant was extremely agitated and angry... [he] stated he wanted the officers to shoot him."

Later, the woman told officers that three weeks earlier, Trudeau lit her cat on fire in the middle of her living room to prove a point.

"When the cat was extinguished, [Trudeau] choked the cat with both hands until it died," the complaint says. "After the cat was dead, the defendant went into the kitchen and used a pair of kitchen scissors to dismember the cat by cutting its head off of its body."

Regarding his brutal treatment of the cat, Trudeau allegedly told his girlfriend, "If you tell anyone about this, I will kill you." The woman, afraid for her safety, didn't call police.

Trudeau's criminal record contains a 2006 conviction for animal cruelty and a prior for domestic assault by strangulation. He remains in custody this evening and won't be released unless he puts up $1 million cash or a $10 million bond.