PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Residents of a Port St. Lucie neighborhood said they were disturbed after police said they arrested a man accused of brutally torturing and killing a blue heron in front of his children.
Port St. Lucie police said an officer responded Sunday to a home located on Southeast Petunia Avenue and arrested Eugene Fritz, 67.
According to the arrest affidavit, Fritz's wife called police and told them she was concerned for her safety after she and her husband got into an argument and he told her, "he knew people who could take care of her."
Fritz's wife then went on to tell officers her husband came home with a live blue heron, which she said he killed in front of her children.
When officers interviewed the children, they said the children told them Fritz brought home the bird from a fishing trip with a broken leg, and that he said he had injured the blue heron while trying to capture it.
The children said he then cut off its legs, brutally stabbed it to death, before slitting its throat, all while they watched.
According to the report, Fritz's wife also told police he had been coming home and killing fish in front of the children, and that his reasoning for killing the bird was that he was "angry with it" for killing his fishing bait.
Neighbors in the area, like St. Lucie County native Preston Louis, were shocked.
"A blue heron, wow," Louis said. "That is awful. Nothing you should be doing to animals like that, much less in front of children. Unbelievable that someone could do something like that to a bird. Give them a chance. I mean, they were here first."
Other neighbors told WPTV that Fritz had just moved in and said they had seen police lights at the home just days earlier.
"There was like, five to seven police cars here the other night," said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified. "It's quiet [here]. It's a good neighborhood."
Cindy Dionne, the clinical director for Treasure Coast Wildlife, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, said violence toward wildlife, including blue herons, isn't unheard of in this area.
"You almost desensitize from it," Dionne said, who takes care of all the animals that come in. "There's no reason that they should be harming these animals. They're not posing any threat to them. They're actually just in a body of water fishing and trying to catch their next meal."
According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) website, blue herons are federally protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act and as a state threatened species by Florida's Endangered and Threatened Species Rule.
"They have to answer to the federal government," Dionne said, who added the reason for the protection is to prevent the species from becoming endangered and to preserve Florida's natural habitats.
Dionne said she hopes this story reminds people that animals need protection too.
"They have no voice themselves," Dionne said.
WPTV spoke to Fritz's wife, who declined to comment.
We also contacted FWC, who said they're working on releasing a statement.
Port St. Lucie police said Fritz has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty and cruelty towards a child due to the mental toll from witnessing the animal's death.
Treasure Coast Wildlife helps the preservation of wildlife and the conservation of natural habitats.
Dionne said all funding for their efforts comes from public and private grants and from concerned citizens throughout our community and said without donations from the community, they wouldn't be able to help the animals they rehabilitate.
Click here if you would like to donate to Treasure Coast Wildlife.
If you see animal cruelty towards wildlife or you see an injured animal, you can report it to your local animal control agency or to Treasure Coast Wildlife at 772-463-3211. You can also bring it to the center, which is located at 8626 Southwest Citrus Boulevard in Palm City.