Thomas William Middaugh (MSP) and Bear the 7-year-old dog he killed, beheaded, and dismembered (WPBN screenshot)
A 44-year-old man in Michigan will be spending a couple of months behind bars for torturing, killing, beheading, and dismembering his neighbor's dog earlier this year after authorities found the animal's head and legs stuffed in a box inside of his barn.
Wexford County Circuit Court Judge Jason Elmore on Monday ordered Thomas William Middaugh to serve a sentence of 60 days in jail for the grisly crime, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Middaugh was arrested in February and initially charged with two counts of felony animal killing or torturing as well as a habitual offender charge. However, he reached a deal with prosecutors in May and pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree attempted animal killing or torturing in exchange for the other charges being dropped.
In addition to the jail time, Middaugh will also have to serve two years on probation following his release.
According to a press release from the Michigan State Police, troopers from the Cadillac Post at about 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, responded to a report about a dog being killed at a home in Wexford Township. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders spoke with the owner of the dog, described as a 7-year-old black Labrador Retriever named "Bear."
The owner said that Bear had wandered off of the property sometime on the evening of Friday, Feb. 3. The owner said he and his wife were able to locate Bear's tracks that night and followed them to the property of a neighbor, later identified as Middaugh. The next morning, as they continued searching for Bear, the owner said they came across an area in the snow where they could see Bear had "circled and stopped." There, they found "a pool of blood in the snow" but no dog and no footprints leading away from the circle. However, there were tire tracks next to where the dog had circled.
Police say the investigation revealed that Middaugh "had shot the dog multiple times with a .22 caliber rifle," according to the press release. "He then cut the head and legs off the dog, wrapped it in a tarp, and put it inside a box that he hid inside his barn."
Police submitted a report to the Wexford County Prosecutor's Office and a warrant for Middaugh's arrest was issued on March 6. Middaugh turned himself over to authorities and was booked into the Wexford County Jail, where he spent two days before being released on bond. He was credited with two days of time served on his 60-day sentence.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Elmore said Middaugh's conduct, particularly what he did to the dog after killing it, was concerning, according to a report from Traverse City, Michigan NBC affiliate WPBN-TV.
"It's concerning that he cut off the dog's legs and decapitated him and I can't find anywhere where that makes sense," he reportedly said.
Middaugh reportedly addressed the court and said he apologized "for the whole situation."
One of the dog's owners, Samantha Olds, told the station that 60 days in jail was "better than nothing."
"Nothing is ever going to feel like enough, but it was something," she reportedly said.