3 dogs shot to death with AK-47
Abilene, TX (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Dec 29, 2010
County: Taylor

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Jayson Murphy

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

An Abilene man accused of shooting and killing three pit bulls with an AK-47 is out of Taylor County Jail after posting a $7,500 bond Wednesday night.

Jayson Murphy, 29, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with three felony counts of animal cruelty. He told police the dogs had attacked his children in his front yard of his home in the 1100 block of Matador in south Abilene.

According to Detective Kimberly Scalf of the Abilene Police Department, Murphy still may be charged on a count of discharging a firearm within the city limits. The charge, for now, has been referred to the district attorney's office.

Charges may also be filed against Jason and Tiffany Fain, owners of the three dogs that Murphy allegedly killed.

The dogs were in a side yard of a vacant house located between the Fain and Murphy homes when they were killed. Scalf said Abilene Animal Control officers will determine whether to pursue charges.

Jason Fain might also face charges of discharging a weapon within city limits. Fain claimed he used his own firearm to euthanize one of his dogs, which had been shot but did not die immediately.

On Thursday, the Fains confirmed to the Reporter-News that their three dogs had left their property but believed they did not present any threat to Murphy or his children. Jason Fain said the three dogs were registered with the American Pit Bull Registry and had no history of aggression toward humans. He also said there was no aggression in their pedigree or bloodlines.

"These were not dogs that were left chained up in the backyard or left unattended. They are all pedigreed dogs, who spent 75 percent of the time indoors," he said. "I have kids -- my 4- and 5-year-old, they ride them like horses. They did not have a mean bone in their body.

"They have been socialized, they are not aggressive."

Fain said the dogs may have gotten out of his backyard through loose planks in the privacy fence. He said he previously was not aware of breaks in the fence, and did not discover the loose planks until after the incident, when he went to see how they might have escaped.

Fain said he believes the reputation of the pit bull terrier breed may have led to the dogs' actions being misunderstood by his neighbors. The Fains have lived in their home for three years and Fain said the Murphys had been in their home about a month.

Fain said the dogs appeared to have been shot at point-blank range.

"My dogs probably went up to greet (Murphy) and he shot them," Fain said. "If my dogs did go out in the front yard (of the Murphy house), they went over there because they thought they were my kids."

Jayson Murphy and his wife, Iris, declined to comment on the incident on the advice of their attorney.

Kyle Murphy, Jayson Murphy's brother, told the Reporter-News, however, that his brother is a family man who was protecting his children.

According to Kyle Murphy, who was not present at the time of the incident but who spoke with Jayson's wife afterward, his brother was asleep around noon in a back bedroom of the house when he heard his wife screaming about dogs attacking their young children.

Kyle Murphy said Jayson Murphy grabbed his AK-47 and exited the house through a side door. From that angle, Kyle Murphy said, Jayson Murphy could not immediately see his children. Fearing one had been dragged off by the dogs, he headed toward the house next door. Kyle Murphy said when Jayson Murphy located the dogs, in a side yard between the Fains' house, the dogs charged him and he shot them at close range.

Scalf said necropsies would not be performed on the dogs. The Fains said the dogs would be cremated.

Eyewitnesses to the shooting offered conflicting accounts as to how many shots were fired and when, and Abilene police still are sorting out details.

Lt. Joe Tauer reported Wednesday that there were no visible marks on the children that indicated an attack. However, in a comment on an article posted Wednesday on reporternews.com, Kyle Murphy said Jayson Murphy's son had been knocked over by one of the dogs and bloodied his nose.

There were more almost 150 comments posted on the article on reporternews.com by Thursday evening that supported both sides in the incident.

According to Scalf, the evidence next will be presented to a grand jury, which will decide whether to indict Jayson Murphy.

On Wednesday, police were observed removing at least five guns from Murphy's home. According to Scalf, Jayson Murphy gave consent for police to search his home and told them where the guns could be found. Tauer took the AK-47 allegedly used to shoot the dogs into evidence, and decided to seize the remaining weapons for safekeeping.

"Typically, any time a suspect threatens suicide or demonstrates irresponsibility with a weapon, we will seize the weapons and hold on to them until the window of danger has passed," Scalf said. "The weapons are still owned by Mr. Murphy, they won't be sold or kept longer than 30 days. They can be returned at any time" determined by police.

Case Updates

References

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