Man Accused Of Killing Family Pet, Used Dishwasher
Memphis, TN – A Memphis man has been accused of killing a German shepherd-mix puppy, running the animal through a dishwasher before dumping its body in the trash.
Marcus Curry, 27, has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty/abuse after allegedly running the puppy through the dishwasher because he was attempting keep the dog from defecating inside the apartment, reports local ABC News affiliate, WCPO.
A maintenance man found the canine’s wet dead body in a red duffel bag inside a dumpster near Curry’s home on South Mendenhall Road.
Previously, contractors working at the Eden at Watersedge Apartments, where Curry lives, noticed the mixed-breed puppy tied up for days on Curry’s balcony on a short cord with no water, reports WREG News. When they told animal’s owner he needed to take better care of the dog, he took it inside.
About an hour later, Curry came outside with a red duffel bag which he threw into a dumpster.
One of the workers who had previously given the dog some water, Henry Jones, found the wet puppy in the garbage. “I unzipped the bag and saw the dog and it was wet.”
Curry was arrested by Tennessee authorities for allegedly killing the dog.
A police affidavit states Curry told officers he didn’t put the dog into the dishwasher but did admit to putting the animal into a bag and throwing it away in the trash.
A witness, however, told investigators that Curry told him he put the dog in the dishwasher and “left it in there too long.” Another witness saw the animal in the dishwasher and said, when Curry took it out, the puppy was not moving.
Curry is being held on $40,000 bond.
Tennessee’s animal cruelty statute 39-14-212 states a person commits aggravated cruelty, a Class E felony, to animals when, with aggravated cruelty and with no justifiable purpose, he/she intentionally kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal. A Class E felony is punishable with a fine up to $3,000 and/or imprisonment up to six years.
Do you think the potential penalty of a $3,000 fine or six years in jail is enough?
