Fla. Woman Charged After Allegedly Drowning Roommate's Pet Spider in Ginger Ale

A 43-year-old woman is facing animal cruelty and petty theft charges after she intentionally drowned her roommate's pet jumping spider in soda

A woman in Florida is facing animal cruelty charges after deputies alleged that she drowned her roommate's pet spider in soda and killed it.

On Wednesday, July 31, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office announced in a now-deleted press release that a 43-year-old woman intentionally killed her roommate's small jumping spider on July 15, according to the Miami Herald and local ABC affiliate station WKRG.

The sheriff's office said that the woman's roommate returned to her home in Crestview, Fla., about 50 miles outside of Pensacola, and found the spider and its enclosure missing from their home, the outlets reported. Per an affidavit obtained by The Herald, the woman allegedly admitted to killing the spider, texting her roommate to admit that she had drowned it in Ginger Ale.

According to records from the Okaloosa Department of Corrections, the woman was charged on July 29 with animal cruelty as well as petty theft for the missing enclosure. She was later identified as Ilena Rasmussen, according to the Department of Corrections.

WKRG reported that the pet spider allegedly costed about $70.

According to the National Park Service, jumping spiders are a member of the family Salticidae, and are known for their shiny fur or scaly bodies and the large size of their eight eyes, which they use to hunt flies, ants and moths — making them a big part of Florida's local ecosystem.

The U.S. Forest Service states that they range in size from one eighth of an inch to three-fourths of an inch, "makes them smaller than your big toenail." These spiders — which do actually jump — are extremely common in peninsular Florida, per the University of Florida.

Last year, CNN wrote about how the arachnids have become popular as pets due to communities on TikTok, in which owners share videos of their pets.

"Maybe it’s because they’re these tiny sentient little creatures existing in this huge world around us, and we don’t even take the time to notice them or how smart they are," one jumping spider owner told CNN at the time. "But caring for them has changed my entire life."

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Under Florida law, animal cruelty that results in an animal's death is a first-degree misdemeanor that can be punished by a maximum fine of $5,000, a maximum of one year in prison, or both.

The woman was released released on her own recognizance without any cash bail on July 31, and is due to be arraigned at the Crestview Courthouse on Aug. 20, according to court records. It's unclear if she's retained an attorney to speak on her behalf.

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