Warning: This article contains disturbing descriptions of violence.
The man accused of torturing and decapitating 5 dogs he bought off of Craigslist has been sentenced to up to 28 years in jail.
Jason Brown, 25, was arrested last year after a maid at a Reno, Nevada motel discovered a dog’s head in the bath and other parts all over the bathroom. Police arrived on the scene and found four more dog heads in the room’s refrigerator. Investigators also found the skins of the dogs including a newborn puppy. In the days leading up to the grizzly discovery, Brown had not let cleaners into the room.
When Brown returned to the motel and noticed he had been discovered, he ran away. He was later arrested by police and accused of five felony counts of willful torture of an animal and one count of possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine.
Brown is believed to have bought at least two Chihuahuas off of Craigslist. Brown previously is said to have confided in a close family friend that he was having urges of rage and had even killed a friend’s dog. He apparently went on to say that killing dogs made him feel high. When asked by the family friend if he was also having these urges toward humans, Brown allegedly responded, “Dogs are good for right now.”
During Brown’s trial, the jury heard frightening audio tape from several videos Brown recorded of the dogs’ torture and deaths.
“I’m making a jacket out of them,” Brown said in one video. “The little white Chihuahuas are my favorite. If I get one of those, they are coming to Jason’s house of pain.”
District Judge Elliott Sattler watched videotapes and said that he will never forget the gruesome images. “The cruelty, the sadism you exhibited is simply shocking,” he said. “The part that frightened me most about the videos is that you produced them in the first place. That tells me you wanted to go back and watch them again — a trophy if you will of your behavior.”
Even Brown’s lawyer thought Brown was “not in his right mind”. “Over 40 years, I’ve seen people killed in every way, shape or form,” he said. “But this case is a first for me in a lot of ways.”
The former presidential scholar and psychology major reportedly told the judge that he has no recollection of events due to his drug addiction and that he did not have control of himself.
Judge Sattler sentenced Brown to the maximum time possible – 28 years. Brown will be eligible for parole in 11 years.
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