SCHERMERHORN STREET — A former Project Runway finalist admitted during her last hearing in Brooklyn Criminal Court that she “gently� tossed her cat onto a bed. But she denied that she used the feline as a weapon during a spat with her ex-fiance.

Kenley Collins will appear tomorrow in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Schermerhorn Street. At her last hearing, Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Suzanne Mondo reportedly told her that a class-D felony assault charge would be reduced to a class-A misdemeanor. A temporary order of protection is also in effect.

Her former flame, Zak Penley, told authorities that Collins woke him by hurling the cat in his face. He said that was followed by a laptop toss. Three apples and some water also made it into the mix. Collins had a sharp-tongued reputation on the Bravo TV fashion-design competition. Penley, an artist and musician, wrote a song called “CAT?� for Collins’ Project Runway finale.

During the October 2008 season finale, Collins was one of the three finalists and lost to designer LeAnne Marshall.

After Collins was arrested for the alleged cat-assault, Marshall told the Post, “When she got angry, I knew to keep my distance. Clearly, she needs therapy.�

“I feel a little sorry for her that she can’t control her emotions and behavior,� Marshall continued, “but on the other hand, absolutely nothing excuses physical violence and throwing a poor, defenseless kitty at someone who is sleeping. I feel bad for the cat, the bruised apples and Zak.�

Neighbors who lived next to the couple said that they were often heard yelling and fighting, although they were a popular couple on the program.

Collins was arrested March 17. She was represented by a public defender but has since retained a private attorney.

Collins said she and Penley were not ready to get married — perhaps because then she would be “Kenley Penley.�

—By The Associated Press
and Samuel Newhouse,of
the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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