By Joe Johnson
Three University of Georgia students have been charged with leaving mutilated animal remains at a fraternity house last month.
On the morning of Feb. 7, members of Chi Psi awoke to find the remains on the front porch of their South Milledge Avenue fraternity house.
Following an investigation, Athens-Clarke County police obtained warrants charging Carson Smith, 19, and Jackson Smith 20, both originally from the same address in Laurens County, with one count each of criminal trespass and improperly disposing of an animal carcass,
They were both booked into the Clarke County Jail on Feb. 26. And released the following day.
The third suspect, 19-year-old Conner Donahoo, was charged with improperly disposing of an animal carcass, but he had not been booked into the jail as of Wednesday afternoon.
UGA spokesman Greg Trevor confirmed all three suspects attended UGA
The Athens-Clarke County police officer who responded to the fraternity house described in an incident report what he found:
“I observed what appeared to be a skinned canine (domestic dog or coyote) which was otherwise intact,” the officer wrote in the report. “The canine only had approximately six inches of fur remaining on the lower portion of each leg.
“There were also three skinned heads (believed to be racoon, one of which had a distinct bullet hole between the eyes, two dead rats, several probable racoon feet, and a variety of entrails.”
The officer also reported finding several pairs of bloody Latex gloves.
The incident was initially investigated as a case of animal cruelty, but no one was charged with that offense because police determined that the animals had been legally hunted.