The two suspects accused of killing several animals inside of an Oklahoma City Petland (OKC Police and KFOR screenshot)
A man and a woman in Oklahoma are accused of walking into a Petland pet store and killing several helpless animals in a bizarrely sadistic crime spree. The two animal cruelty suspects have been identified by local law enforcement authorities, but their names will not be released until formal charges are filed, police said.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officers with the Oklahoma City Police Department at about 5:48 p.m. on July 14 responded to a call regarding possible animal cruelty at a Petland store located in the 13000 block of N Pennsylvania Avenue. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders spoke to the store’s assistant manager, who told police that employees located several dead animals inside of their enclosures the previous day.
Specifically, the assistant manager advised that one of the parakeets had been found dead inside of its cage and they were able to determine that “its neck had been broken.”
The store’s bunny enclosure was located next to the parakeet enclosure. There, employees said they found a bunny that was observed to be unresponsive and “quickly determine to be deceased.”
The two dead animals raised suspicion among the employees, and the manager was called in to review footage from the store’s surveillance cameras. Based on the video, the manager was able to determine that the culprits were a white male and female, who both appeared to be between the ages of 18 and 25.
The two allegedly entered the store at around 3:30 p.m. the previous day and began “looking around,” before going over to the puppy enclosure and having one of the animals brought to them. The puppy they were shown was unharmed.
“After interacting with the puppy, [the manager] stated the male went to the area where the bunnies and Parakeets are located. The video [the manager] showed me revealed the white male reaching into the bunny enclosure and appearing to hold the bunny down. The male looks around and lets go of the bunny,” the affidavit states. “Another video showed the male reaching into the Parakeet enclosure and moving away.”
Furthermore, the video allegedly showed that the female suspect did not stand directly next to the man, rather, she appeared to be acting as a “lookout for the male.”
“After breaking the neck of the Parakeet and strangling the bunny, the male grabbed a hamster and a Guinea pig before leaving the store with the female,” police wrote.
When the staff watched the surveillance footage and saw that the hamster and Guinea pig had been taken, they went out to the parking lot where they located the hamster, which had also been killed. Police said it appeared as though the hamster had been “stomped to death.” The Guinea pig still has not been located.
OKC Police said the Oklahoma City Animal Welfare Division is currently the lead investigating agency in the case. Animal Welfare did not immediately respond to a message from Law&Crime seeking additional information and updates on the case.
Police confirmed to Law&Crime that the two suspects had been “tentatively identified,” but noted that no arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon.
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