GOLDEN VALLEY, Ariz. – An Arizona man is accused of animal cruelty after 183 dead dogs, rabbits, birds and other animals were found in a freezer, authorities said.
Michael Patrick Turland, 43, of Golden Valley, was arrested Wednesday and charged with 94 counts of felony animal cruelty, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Thursday. The sheriff’s office said that some of the animals were frozen alive, according to The Miner newspaper of Kingman.
Deputies responded to Turland’s former home in Golden Valley on April 3 after a woman reported that Turland had not returned some snakes she had lent him for breeding, KPHO-TV reported.
The woman, who lives in Phoenix, told deputies she had been unable to contact Turland for several months. She added that the property owner told her that Turland and his wife, Brooklyn Beck, had moved out of Arizona, The Miner reported.
The dead animals were found by the home’s owner, who was cleaning out the garage after Turland had vacated the property, the sheriff’s office said. The owner contacted the woman, who notified the sheriff’s office.
Some of the other dead animals found were turtles, lizards, mice and rats, the sheriff’s office said.
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“Several of the animals appeared to have been frozen alive due to their body positioning,” the sheriff’s office stated in its news release.
Deputies were notified on Wednesday that Turland had returned to the residence, where he was arrested, KPHO reported.
“When interviewed, Turland eventually admitted to placing some of the animals in the freezer when they were still alive,” the sheriff’s office said in its statement.
Deputies are also attempting to contact Beck for questioning, the sheriff’s office said. The investigation is ongoing.
