mutilation

13 Stories

Horses Are Mutilated by the Dozen —But Why?

France pursues attackers who might be responding to social-media 'challenges'

(Newser) - Armed with knives, some knowledge of their prey, and a large dose of cruelty, attackers are going after horses and ponies in pastures across France in what may be ritual mutilations, the AP reports. Police are stymied by the macabre attacks that include slashings and worse. Most often, an ear—...

Cops: Florida Man Cut Off Neighbor's Penis With Scissors

Alex Bonilla allegedly caught neighbor having sex with his wife

(Newser) - A Florida man is accused of exacting a gruesome revenge on a man he allegedly caught having sex with his wife. The Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office says a neighbor told police that Alex Bonilla, 49, broke into his home in Bell, west of Gainesville, on Sunday morning when his...

Dead Cats Being Found With Their Spines Removed

Thurston County, Washington, is up to 7 such deaths

(Newser) - Something macabre is afoot in Washington's Thurston County. Seven cats have been found killed and mutilated there in recent months, and brutally so. Q13 cites Animal Services Officer Erika Johnson as describing the "extremely horrific" methodology: The animals were sliced from their stern to their genitals, and their...

Serial Killer of Animals on the Loose in Canada

Culprit uses scalpel, leaves bodies in public places

(Newser) - "It's impossible to forget what we've seen," says the director of a Humane Society in London, Ontario, where officials say a serial animal killer is on the loose. Over the past year, 17 dead animals have been found around the Canadian city. It started with skinned...

Syria Rebel Filmed Biting Into Soldier's Heart

Human Rights Watch calls it a war crime

(Newser) - A Syrian rebel has been caught on video apparently cutting a dead soldier's heart from his body then taking a bite from it. "I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog," says the rebel, identified by Human...

Man Cuts Off Wife's Fingers for Studying: Cops

Migrant worker reportedly jealous of her education

(Newser) - First he blindfolded his wife and taped her mouth, saying he had surprise present for her. Then he cut off the fingers on her right hand, police say. Rafiqul Islam, 30, a migrant worker in the United Arab Emirates, reportedly confessed after committing the crime in his home country of...

Criminals Mangle Fingers to Erase Their Prints

By acid, fire, or knife, mutilators look to beat the system

(Newser) - It's painful, disgusting, and not always successful, but increasing numbers of people are mutilating their fingertips to prevent fingerprint ID, the Boston Globe reports. The numbers are relatively small—20 such arrests last year—but Massachusetts State Police have noticed a seven-fold increase in the number of perps with mangled...

Taiwan Teen Severs Dad's Hands Over Abuse

17-year-old bought knife, sliced both father's wrists

(Newser) - Police in Taiwan arrested a 17-year-old boy who chopped off his father's hands, allegedly after suffering years of physical abuse. The boy used a knife cut through both of his father's wrists while he slept, although doctors succeeded in reattaching them. Local media reported that the boy suffered frequent beatings...

Taliban Threaten to Mutilate Afghan Voters

(Newser) - Hamid Karzai's battle for reelection on Thursday is facing a significant hurdle: threats by the Taliban to mutilate anyone who shows up at the polls. Insurgents are strongest in Pashtun regions, normally a Karzai stronghold, and in one town a group of Taliban fighters told citizens anyone who votes will...

Teen Suspect Arrested in Fla. Cat Killings

Murders spawned 1,000-member Facebook group

(Newser) - Miami police arrested a teenager today in connection with a high-profile series of cat-killings, the Miami Herald reports. Accused of mutilating and killing more than a dozen cats, Tyler Hayes Weinman, 18, was charged with animal cruelty, improperly disposing of an animal body, and burglary. Residents alerted police to Weinman,...

Death Row Inmate Plucks Eye, Eats It

Killer of own family getting mental care he had 'begged for'

(Newser) - A Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems pulled out his only good eye and told authorities he ate it, the AP reports. Thomas was treated at an East Texas medical center after the incident last month. He was transferred and remains at a prison psychiatric facility...

23 Years in a North Korean Prison Camp

Escapee, born in prison, tells of routine, stunning torture

(Newser) - There are 14,431 North Korean defectors living in South Korea, but only one, Shin Dong-hyuk, who escaped from a Northern prison camp. In an interview with the Washington Post, Shin describes the daily horrors of life inside Kim Jong-Il's gulags, from fire torture to mutilation. He committed no crime—...

Saddam Stabbed After Death: Guard

(Newser) - Saddam Hussein’s body was mutilated after his execution, says a guard present at his internment. “There were six stab wounds on his body,” two of them to his back, the Iraqi told the London Times. The guard said 300 people witnessed the desecrated body, but Iraqi officials...

13 Stories