Leave it up to Florida to have the wildest stories. Rivaling Florida Man is Florida Woman, and boy do I have a story for you. Authorities recently arrested a Florida woman for killing her roommate's pet spider.
We're not talking tarantulas either. No, we're talking about a pet jumping spider. I've killed plenty of spiders in my house and never had the handcuffs slapped on me. It's hard to tell what's stranger — the fact that someone kept a pet jumping spider or someone killing said spider. Rather than dispose of the spider in the usual method of splat, the woman used a can of soda.
What got her in trouble was taking credit for the deed. She bragged about killing the spider online. The Florida woman said, "Yes I'm an evil spider killer!!" Authorities arrested 43-year-old Ilena Renae Rasmussen on July 29. She admitted in a text to her room to "drowning [her] jumping spider in ginger ale." Authorities investigated the crime, according to the Miami Herald.
Jumping Spider Murder
Apparently Rasmussen continued to harass and taunt her roommate in a series of social media posts. She posted a photo of herself with a can of ginger ale. She admitted to killing her her roommate's $70 pet.
"F-k the haters!" she wrote under the photo. She also shared a photo of her mugshot online as well. She wrote, "It's me! LMFAO!" and "Yes I'm an evil spider killer!! Oh the drama!!" Authorities charged the Florida woman with one count of animal cruelty and one count of petty theft. Those are pretty stiff fines over something so small.
Jumping spiders are typically very small. They only grow three-quarters of an inch. However, they've gained a following in recent years despite some still being creeped out by the arachnids. Rasmussen said she got arrested because her roommate was "being overly dramatic." It's clear that the two don't have a lot of love for each other.
"This b—ch had me arrested for a pet spider!!" she wrote. Rasmussen will face court on August 20. In the meantime, she's started a GoFundMe to try to raise money for her legal defense. However, she appears to have only raised a small amount so far.
