Jerry Lawrence McCray, 35, pleaded guilty but insane Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court to a charge of first-degree aggravated animal abuse. Circuit Court Judge Ray White ordered McCray to spend five years under the supervision of the state’s Psychiatric Security Review Board.

In an attempt to exorcise a gray, 10-week-old kitten named Cosmo, McCray stabbed it multiple times with a small knife that folds into a cross-shaped pendant, said Sarita Glassburner, deputy district attorney for Jackson County. He then sprayed it with olive drab paint and lit its head on fire. McCray thought the cat contained "Indian spirits," the prosecutor added.

McCray was living in a North Ross Lane group home for the mentally disabled, Medford police said. A caregiver told officers on June 19 that McCray had killed his cat, which was found in some backyard brambles.

McCray was admitted to Rogue Valley Medical Center’s psychiatric ward, released and arrested about a month later on suspicion of failing to register as a sex offender.

McCray’s five-year sentence under PSRB’s jurisdiction is his second following a 1995 arson conviction. Convicts receive treatment, medication and instruction on managing their illness. Many eventually are released back into their communities.