Deputy: US woman skinned puppy to make belt
By Associated Press
Jun 19, 2009 12:27 PM CDT

A 23-year-old woman is accused of getting a friend to kill her Jack Russell terrier and skinning the puppy to make a belt out of its hide.

Krystal Lynn Lewis and Austin Michael Mullins, 26, were being held Friday in the Muskogee County jail on $25,000 bail each. They were charged with one felony count of cruelty to animals.

"We're talking about a 6- or 7-week-old defenseless puppy," said sheriff's deputy George Roberson. "That's pretty heinous and sadistic."

A Muskogee County judge ordered a mental competency hearing for both defendants.

Lewis wanted the puppy, named Poplin, killed because it was a gift from an ex-lover with whom she doesn't get along, said Muskogee County sheriff's deputy George Roberson.

Roberson said Mullins shot the terrier 10 times with a .22-caliber pistol. Lewis skinned the animal at her apartment and nailed the hide to a board.