18-Year-Old Accused of Killing Grandmother's Shih-Tzu Dog, Storing Head in Dresser Drawer
An 18-year-old woman from Tennessee appeared in court Monday after authorities say she not only killed her grandmother’s dog but also decapitated it in a gruesome act of animal cruelty.
Authorities say Kyoko Smith killed her grandmother’s Shih Tzu, named Lucy, on Nov. 11 according to WREG-TV.
Then Smith allegedly beheaded the dog and placed the head inside her dresser drawer.
She is also accused of removing the dog’s heart and storing it in the freezer.
This is a little creepy. A Mid-South 18-year-old is in court after police say she killed her grandmother’s dog. According to police, Kyoko Smith killed the Shih-Tzu dog, cut off the animal’s head and put it in a dresser drawer, then cut out it’s heart and put it in the freezer. pic.twitter.com/zmOVJp5eWz
— Greg Hurst (@GregHurstWREG) November 25, 2019
A family member reported the grisly crime to the police and said, “he also received pictures of the dead dog from Kyoko Smith’s mother,” WREG reported
Two days later, Smith confessed to killing the dog although the motive is still unclear.
She was arrested and charged for killing the dog on Nov. 22.
She was later released on a $5,000 bond and is set to appear in court again next month.
One of the conditions of her bond, according to WHBQ-TV, was counseling.
Smith needs to show that’s she tried to receive help when she appears back in court on Dec. 9.
Kaitlin Montoya, who counsels at-risk youth at Youth Villages, said that Smith’s violent act doesn’t mean that she’ll repeat it after receiving help.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean anything could escalate,” she said. “It just means the child doesn’t know how to express and communicate what they need and what’s going on.”
Others, however, can’t help but think about the pain the poor dog endured.
“Absolutely the first thing that comes to my mind is please, please, I pray that animal didn’t suffer too long,” Alexis Pugh, director of the Memphis Animal Shelter told WREG.
“My second thought is, this is a person who needs some help and I’m glad this is someone that has been identified by authorities, because the lengths this person went to mutilate this innocent animal.”
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