‘Painful, horrible death’: Haines City man repeatedly stabbed dogs, dumped them at pond, PCSO says

Rachel Tucker
·2 min read
‘Painful, horrible death’: Haines City man repeatedly stabbed dogs, dumped them at pond, PCSO says

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Haines City man was arrested Tuesday after he was accused of killing two small dogs.

Witnesses in the Hidden Lake Preserve neighborhood called police after hearing the dogs yelping, according to a release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO).

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Detectives believe Angel Enrique Burgos, 21, hit and stabbed two Chihuahua mix dogs several times and dumped their bodies at a pond. A witness told PCSO they saw him throw the dogs in the direction of the water, where they were later found dead.

The sheriff’s office alleged Burgos was caught on camera carrying the yelping dogs to the pond.

When veterinarians evaluated the dogs to determine how they died, Veterinarian Doctor Centonze said both dogs were stabbed several times and drowned in their own blood.

“Doctor Centonze advised this was a painful, horrible death,” a PCSO news release stated.

The dogs, named Lincoln and Casper were stabbed 14 and seven times, respectively.

PCSO said Burgos tried to hide the evidence by dumping it in a trash can. According to the sheriff’s office, the following items were recovered from the trash:

  • a pair of black with white lettering slides with a red substance

  • a pair of light colored socks with red substance

  • light colored blue shorts with a red substance

  • black handled knife with a red substance

  • light colored hair type

  • and a light gray t-shirt with a red substance

“This behavior on Burgos’ part is disgusting,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. “He caused the pain, suffering and death of two dogs for which he had a moral responsibility to nurture and provide care. Human depravity like this still shocks me. There is no excuse.”

Burgos was charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty, tampering with evidence, two counts of improper disposal of deceased animals and two counts of illegal dumping.

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