PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A family dog is killed in a West Palm Beach backyard. Police cruisers lined the neighborhood street Friday as investigators try to answer the question. Why?
"I'm devastated, I'm devastated that first the dog was killed but then the speculation that the son did it," neighbor Michelle Klein said.
Klein is a bit shocked like most over the gruesome discovery.
"I don't know what caused it or what the problem was it's just very sad," she said.
Scott Mills, 21, is accused of killing Max, his family's 70-pound German Shepard/Poodle mix in the backyard of their home.
The arrest report states Scott answered the door and was detained without incident. It goes on to say Officer Maroto used a shovel to dig up the disturbed earth and uncover the body.
While being questioned the report says Scott confessed to stabbing the animal along with using a shovel as a weapon.
"Palm Beach County like everywhere else has a problem with animal cruelty," Dave Aronberg, State Attorney for Palm Beach County said.
Aronberg says in part because the laws are so weak.
"If you commit animal cruelty it's unlikely you'll get even any prison time at all. That's one reason I have made this issue a priority," he said.
Aronberg says these types of cases are difficult to charge criminally if there's no witnesses or video.
"It's rare if anyone gets prison time, they may get jail time," he said.
Klein just feels for the Mills family.
"Just that I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," she said.
The arrest report says Mills claimed he did not believe animals are real, they are robots. West Palm Beach Police say he was taken to the county jail.