Michael Humphries ripped head off girlfriends pet duck – A 49-year-old man in Michigan was arrested over the weekend for allegedly using his bare hands to rip the head off of his girlfriend’s pet duck to “send a message” following an argument. He then threw the animal’s decapitated body in a 5-gallon bucket and forcefully held her face up to the grotesque remains in what the sheriff referred to as “domestic violence at an epic level.”
Michael Lee Humphries was taken into custody on Sunday morning and charged with one count of felony first-degree maiming/torturing/killing an animal, one count of felony resisting/obstructing an officer, and one count of domestic violence. He is also facing a habitual offender status due to a previous conviction in St. Clair County for aggravated stalking in 2019. Authorities noted that the domestic violence victim in that case was a different woman than Humphries’ current girlfriend.
Michael Lee Humphries (Genesee County Sheriff’s Office)
Michael Humphries ripped head off girlfriends pet duck
“Michael Lee Humphries ripped the head off of a companion domesticated animal for one purpose and one purpose alone — psychological domination and intimidation of a domestic violence victim. That’s the only reason,” Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said in a video posted to the GCSO Facebook page.
Humphries in March 2023 bought two baby ducklings for his girlfriend, which she had been keeping as pets, authorities said. The two had been dating for about 18 months when the incident with the duck took place.
According to Swanson, the couple on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 5 attended a Stevie Nicks concert where they got into a heated argument. Upon returning home, they fought through the night and continued fighting into Sunday morning. At some point on Sunday morning, Humphries decided to go after one of the pet ducks as a way to “send a message” to his girlfriend, the sheriff said.
“There’s this explosion of violence. The violence takes over,” Swanson said. “As he’s going back and forth in this argument, he goes to the barn, grabs one of the ducks, and rips the head off in front of the victim and says, ‘Look at this.’ That’s the psychological domination I’m talking about,” Swanson said. “He did this with his hands. Then he took the duck’s body and put it into a 5-gallon bucket. As he dumps the body into a bucket, he goes over to the domestic violence victim, his girlfriend, grabs her by the face — leaving marks on her face — and points her face at the bucket and says ‘I want you to see this.’ That’s domestic violence at an epic level.”
Swanson said that when sheriff deputies arrived on the scene, Humphries allegedly “fought them at the door” and he “resisted on the scene.”
Under Michigan state law, it is a felony to intentionally torture or kill a domesticated animal. While penalties can vary based on a number of factors, Humphries is facing a maximum penalty of up to 10 years behind bars.
“There’s that direct connect, that I’ve said many times before, between animal abuse, neglect, torture, and maiming and violence against vulnerable adults, vulnerable child, the elderly, the addicted,” Swanson said.
The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office released graphic photos of the duck’s head and body following the horrific attack. Due to the disturbing nature of the photos, Law&Crime is not publishing them.
Humphries was taken into custody and released after posting $5,000 bond. He is currently scheduled to appear in court again for his probable cause conference on Aug. 17.
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