MILLINGTON, Tenn. — A Millington man is behind bars after police say he tortured and killed a dog.
Millington Police say 32-year-old Cordell Mack is charged with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals for allegedly setting a dog on fire and stabbing it to death.
Neighbors told WREG they could hear the dog in pain. “I hear this dog, and it’s just screaming bloody murder. I’ve never heard a dog yell like this before,” Carolyn Lagle said.
Lagle says she was sitting on her porch when she heard the terrifying cry Wednesday morning. “This dog was just going on and on and I was going to call the police. I started to but I couldn’t tell them where it was.”
The sound came from a house just a few doors down Tecumseh Street in Millington.
When police arrived, they said they found a black and gray pitbull in the backyard suffering from several lacerations and burnt skin and hair. Officers say they also found a large knife with blood on the blade.
Animal Services were called to the scene, but the dog was already dead.
The dog’s owner claims Mack, who is a relative, stabbed the dog repeatedly while it ran around the yard on fire. In a police statement, the owner says he does not understand why this happened.
We tried talking to the dog’s owner, but she didn’t want to speak with us.
Reports say a neighbor claimed that Mack attempted to pour lighter fluid on his dogs on the other side of the fence. We contacted that neighbor, but he declined to comment on the situation.
However, he reassured us that his dogs were okay.
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Millington PD said when they arrested Mack, he had blood on his hands and shirt. Family members say Mack suffers from mental illness.
Cordell Mack is currently being held on a $25,000 bond. He’s due back in court for a bail hearing tomorrow morning.
