Dog found mutilated and buried
Orangeburg, SC (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Oct 27, 2010
County: Orangeburg

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Zebedee McDowell

An Orangeburg man facing a felony charge of ill treatment of animals appeared in General Sessions Court Tuesday.

Zebedee McDowell, 29, of Columbia Road is accused of killing a dog and later presenting its jaw to one of the dog's owners. McDowell is free on a $2,500 surety bond.

He was initially arrested on Oct. 27 after an Orangeburg man called law enforcement to his property off Columbia Road about a dog that had been mutilated.

The complainant said that not long after his dog went missing, a subject (Zebedee McDowell) who did yard work for him gave his wife an "animal tooth with part of a jaw tied on to a string as a gift," an Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office incident report said.

When the dog's owner asked McDowell about the missing dog, McDowell refused to answer. He would only say the tooth was from a shark.

However, when the complainant moved a pile of leaves that McDowell had raked up, he discovered a freshly dug hole. The report said when he dug into the freshly disturbed soil, he found his missing dog. The animal's jawbone was missing.

When investigators questioned McDowell about the dog, he blamed the property owner, the report said.

According to the report, though, McDowell "did state he had buried other animals" on the man's property.

A conviction on a charge of ill treatment of animals carries up to a five-year prison sentence and a fine of $5,000.

Prosecutor Don Sorenson and defense attorney Ash Chisholm both said they couldn't comment on a case that's still pending in court.

McDowell is the brother of 32-year-old Oscar Beecher McDowell, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to murder and arson. The body of Oscar McDowell's girlfriend was found mutilated and burned in 2007 in a Cordova house after the dwelling was destroyed by fire. Oscar McDowell was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

References

• « SC State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Orangeburg County, SC

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