NAPLES, Fla. — A Florida man killed at least eight hamsters in an effort to relieve stress and anger, investigators said.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office said Christian Hunter, 21, severed the head of a hamster and left the remains of the mutilated animal in a blood-smeared box on the side of the road, WINK reported.
A resident found the box Jan. 5 and told detectives she had found several others over the last year with “sadistically mutilated” animals inside. The box also contained bloody wipes, an empty scissors package, a finger-nail file package and a receipt from a pet store.
The receipt indicated a short-haired hamster was purchased for $14.99 at 5:16 p.m. on Jan. 4. The sale was to a customer using a fake name and address, investigators said. Authorities obtained the surveillance video from the Lee County pet store and determined Hunter as the suspect. Investigators said Hunter admitted that he bought the hamster under a fake name. He also told detectives he killed the animal to relieve stress and anger, WINK reported.
He was arrested in Collier County on Tuesday and charged with felony cruelty to animals and unlawful disposal of a dead animal, a misdemeanor, investigators said.
During the investigation, detectives talked with the Lee County Animal Abuse Unit which had similar cases last year, WINK reported. In Lee County, investigators talked to Hunter in July 2020 after a hamster was found ripped into multiple pieces in the parking lot of a Petco pet store, WINK reported. At the time, Hunter told them his dog had attacked the hamster. After the latest incident, they reestablished Hunter as a suspect.
He was released from jail but was arrested Wednesday by Lee County Sheriff’s deputies and charged with aggravated animal cruelty, unlawful disposal of a dead animal and making a false statement to a law enforcement officer.
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“There is only one place for anyone who violently abuses and kills innocent animals,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a statement. “Our detectives worked diligently on this case alongside our law enforcement partners at the Collier County Sheriff’s Office to put this sick individual in jail.”
Hunter also is no longer allowed to buy animals.
“Animal cruelty can never be justified,” Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said in a statement. “We are hopeful that we have addressed this situation and can connect this individual with mental health services.”
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