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Horse beaten, stabbed to death
Bryan, TX (US)Incident Date: Friday, Oct 13, 2006
County: Brazos
Charges: Felony CTA, Felony Non-CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Kenneth Ryan Peterson
» Walter Ray Williams - Alleged
Case Updates: 3 update(s) available
Two Texas A&M students were arrested on Oct 19 on charges relating to the death of a horse in Bryan the week before.
Kenneth Ryan Peterson, 21, and Walter Ray Williams, 20, face charges of animal cruelty and criminal mischief - both state jail felonies. If convicted, they could each face up to four years in jail.
Each charge carries a punishment of 180 days to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted, Brazos County Assistant District Attorney Shane Phelps said.
Bryan resident Darla McCrady, who owned the horse, found it covered in blood with a large gash in its neck early on the morning of Oct 13.
"I found her with her neck open," McCrady said Monday. "She was left there to die, and she had struggled for her life. There was blood everywhere."
The animal was a show horse that had just won its first blue ribbon, McCrady said.
According to police reports, the incident happened early Oct 13 after the men returned to a friend's apartment at the Reveille Ranch Apartment Complex following a party.
According to the reports, Peterson and Williams chased the two horses around a pasture behind the complex with golf clubs and polo mallets.
Williams told police that Peterson wanted to kill one of the horses because they chased him the last time he was in the pasture. Peterson struck the horse on the head with a polo mallet - knocking it down - then jumped on top of the horse and began slashing at its neck with a knife, Williams told police. Peterson then ran off, according to Williams' statements.
After watching his friend attack the horse, Williams told police, he went to the friend to ask what to do. They returned to the horse, and Williams said he stabbed it in the heart with a broken golf club to "put it out of its misery."
According to police reports, Peterson denied involvement in the killing, and said he passed out in the apartment after returning from the party.
Police were initially called to the apartment complex later the day of the killing after the maintenance staff noticed large amounts of blood in the apartment while changing an air-conditioning filter.
Police said they found a folding knife with blood and hair on it in the apartment under Peterson's wallet and keys. They also found a bloody polo mallet and golf club handle in the apartment, records state.
Both men were being held without bond in the Brazos County Jail.
Case UpdatesA 22-year-old former Texas A&M University student will serve a total of nine months in jail for torturing a horse to death following a heavy night of drinking.
Kenneth Ryan Peterson was found guilty Thursday of cruelty to animals after less than 15 minutes of jury deliberations.
The same jury was set to decide his sentence, which could have been up to two years in state jail. But in a plea agreement, Peterson admitted to also being guilty of an additional state jail felony charge of criminal mischief.
As part of the agreement, Peterson will serve six months in a state jail for the cruelty to animals charge. After serving this sentence, he will serve three months at the Brazos County Jail as part of five years' probation stemming from the criminal mischief charge.
Peterson also has to pay the horse's owner $10,000 in restitution, purchase a full-page newspaper ad apologizing to the owner, undergo psychological evaluation and alcohol treatment if directed, perform 250 hours of community service and not own or live with any pets during his probation.
"What we've crafted is an agreement where he does significant time, but then we can supervise him afterward," said Assistant District Attorney Shane Phelps.
The 1-year-old mare, Cowgirl Chic, was found dead the morning of Oct. 13, 2006, in a pasture near a Bryan apartment complex Peterson stayed at after a night of heavy drinking.
Authorities said Peterson used a golf club, a croquet mallet and a pocketknife in the attack on the horse.
The horse bled to death, a veterinary pathologist said during the trial, describing two deep gashes to her neck. The animal also suffered two brain hemorrhages and three puncture wounds to her lungs and large intestine.
Peterson testified he blacked out that night and didn't remember anything.
Charges are pending against Walter Williams, another former A&M student who has been accused of aiding Peterson in the torture. | Source: Dalls News - Oct 20, 2007
Update posted on Oct 23, 2007 - 5:10PM |
The conviction or acquittal of two college students on animal-cruelty charges in the killing of a horse last month in Bryan could hinge on prosecutors' ability to prove that the animal was tortured first.
Kenneth Ryan Peterson, 21, a Blinn College student, and Walter Raymond Williams, 20, a Texas A&M University student, were indicted Nov. 2 on charges of cruelty to an animal and criminal mischief in the Oct. 13 killing of Cowgirl Chic, a 14-month-old quarter horse.
According to court documents, Peterson struck the horse with a polo mallet and then slashed the horse's neck. A few minutes later, Williams stabbed the horse in the heart with a broken golf club handle, the documents say.
If convicted of the state jail felony, each could receive a two-year sentence.
"We're trying to get the word out [that] we don't think the law is strong enough," said Darla McCrady, Cowgirl Chic's owner. "We're going to petition the Legislature on this issue."
The case has outraged animal lovers across the state and highlights what some say is a loophole in the animal-cruelty statute, which excludes horses, cattle, sheep, swine or goats unless it can be proved that the animal was tortured. The law allows a rancher to kill someone else's livestock if it wanders onto his or her property.
Dallas attorney Robert "Skip" Trimble of the Texas Humane Legislation Network said the law makes it almost impossible to win convictions in cruelty cases involving those animals.
The group pushed for a change during the last legislative session but could not get a bill out of committee, he said. | Source: Star-Telegram - Nov 16, 2006
Update posted on Nov 16, 2006 - 11:27AM |
A Texas A&M student and a Blinn College student have been indicted for killing a horse last month in a pasture behind a Bryan apartment complex.
Kenneth Ryan Peterson, 21, of College Station, and Walter Raymond Williams, 20, of Killeen, were indicted on Nov. 2 on charges of animal cruelty and criminal mischief. If convicted, they could each face up to two years in jail.
The horse was found dead -- its neck slashed -- by its owner on Oct. 13, the Bryan-College Station Eagle reported.
Williams, an A&M student, told police the two had chased the horse with golf clubs and polo mallets after returning from a party to their apartment complex, which is adjacent to the horse pasture, according to the newspaper.
Peterson, who is a Blinn College student in nearby Brenham, had told police he wanted revenge after a horse had chased him on a previous visit to the pasture. He hit the animal over the head with a mallet and began slashing at its neck with a knife after it fell to the ground.
Williams told police he stabbed the horse in the heart with a broken golf club to "put it out of its misery.� | Source: Star Telegram - Nov. 15, 200
Update posted on Nov 15, 2006 - 4:18PM |
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