A Michigan man has been charged after he allegedly ripped the head off of his girlfriend’s pet duck, The New York Post reported.
Michael Lee Humphries, 49, murdered the bird after the couple had been fighting all day. After ripping the duck’s head off, he grabbed his girlfriend by the face and forced her to look at the dead animal.
“I want you to see this,” he reportedly told her.
Genesee County Sheriff Christopher Swanson called the fight “domestic violence at an epic level.”
“Humphries ripped the head off a domesticated animal for one purpose and one purpose alone — psychological domination and intimidation of a domestic violence victim. That’s the only reason,” Swanson said.
“Ripped the head off this animal — spinal cord still attached — and he did that to send a message to his girlfriend who he had a dispute with,” he said.
The duck was one of two Humphries had gifted his girlfriend back in March.
“There is a direct connect between animal abuse…and violence against vulnerable adults,” Swanson said.
He’s charged with torturing, maiming, and killing an animal, a felony that carries a sentence of up to 10-years in prison. He was also charged with domestic violence and resisting and obstructing arrest.
