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Oklahoman Skinned Puppy for Belt: Cops

'6- or 7-week-old defenseless' dog was gift from ex-lover

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 20, 2009 4:14 PM CDT

(Newser) – Oklahoma authorities say a woman had her puppy murdered to make a belt from its hide, the Oklahoman reports. Krystal Lynn Lewis, 23, allegedly hired a friend to kill her Jack Russell terrier. Police say he shot the dog 10 times with a .22-caliber pistol. “We're talking about a 6- or 7-week-old defenseless puppy,” said one official. “That's pretty heinous and sadistic.”

Lewis said she plotted the killing because she couldn’t afford her pup’s care, but cops point to a feud with an ex-lover who gave her the dog. Lewis and her friend Austin Michael Mullins, 26—who will undergo mental competency testing—are charged with one felony count of animal cruelty. Muskogee County is holding them on $25,000 bail.

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Authorities say Krystal Lynn Lewis hired a friend to kill her puppy so she could use its hide to make a belt. (AP Photo/Muskogee County Sheriff's Dept. via The Daily Oklahoman)

Austin Michael Mullins has been charged with one felony count of cruelty to animals after allegedly shooting a puppy 10 times with a .22-caliber pistol. (AP Photo/Muskogee County Sheriff's Dept. via The Daily Oklahoman)

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

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 24 comments

riffran

Jun 21, 2009 12:22 PM CDT

you have got to be shi**ing me.......what the hell?....Thats right out of a Jeff Foxworthy nightmare ...If youve ever skinned your dog to make a belt, you might be a redneck........maybe a blue heeler but not a Jack russell

Netstorm2k10

Jun 21, 2009 9:27 AM CDT

@onebadac20, I don't think shooting the dog ten times counted as anything more than torture. If I'm gonna put down a dog, or anything for that matter, I do it with one shot into the brain stem. Death is instantaneous. Ten shots is someone getting back at their boyfriend. Now, having said that, it was still only a dog, she doesn't deserve to die. This woman needs some short time, some forced emotional help, and a great fucking deal of it. Probably meds, too. But that's about it.

Netstorm2k10

Jun 21, 2009 9:22 AM CDT

It's because it was a dog, and not a deer. I agree, it shouldn't be that big a deal, but since it was most likely done for emotional reasons undirected at the dog, and it was an itty bitty puppy, there is a perceived debt on her part. If enough of society find her guilty of a crime, then, as long as she wants to be a part of that society, she has to pay their debt.

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US • Crime & Courts

animal cruelty • puppy • Oklahoma • dog

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Oklahoman Skinned Puppy for Belt: Cops