HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — An attorney says mental illness has plagued a man accused of stabbing a puppy and leaving it to die in a suitcase in Florida.
Brendan Evans, 31, is being held at the Broward County jail on multiple animal cruelty charges. He was arrested Nov. 15, about a month after police say he stabbed the pit bull and stuffed it into a suitcase.
Rescuers named the puppy Ollie. The dog died at an animal hospital.
In a Sun Sentinel report, Evans’ attorney, Sarah Anne Mourer, said her client sought treatment for mental illness at over a dozen hospitals in Florida and Virginia.
A police report said investigators found mutilated animals in his freezer, knives covered in dried blood and notes referencing demons in Evans’ home.
Evans faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
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