HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities in Florida say they've made an arrest in the case of a young pit bull that eventually died after being beaten, stabbed and stuffed into a suitcase.
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The Sun Sentinel reports that 31-year-old Brendan Evans was arrested Wednesday and charged with aggravated animal cruelty.
Hollywood police say the dog, named Ollie, died at an animal hospital last month, two days after officers traced his cries to a blue suitcase that was left behind an abandoned building. Inside, they found the bloody dog with deep cuts on his head and body. Police say DNA taken from the suitcase was linked to Evans.
According to the ABC affiliate in south Florida, Evans claimed to be a voodoo priest and said he believed it was his religious right to kill a duck if he wanted to.
Detectives reportedly found rats with their scalps removed, cat paws and blood in his refrigerator. There was also reportedly an 8-pointed star on a kitchen wall and a shrine with candles for the "Duke of Hell."
Detectives also say the man had a Crime Stoppers flyer showing a picture of the pit bull ripped in two.
He was already on probation for a bank robbery in Hernando County, and detectives linked his fingerprints to a residential burglary.
