Indianapolis man charged with baking dog to death

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis man faces felony charges alleging that he killed a friend’s dog by putting the canine in a sweltering oven.

Joel Clark, 37, was being held Thursday at the Marion County Jail on charges of killing a domestic animal and torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal.

Prosecutors say Clark was on house arrest and living with two friends. One of the friends found Zane, a Miniature Pinscher, dead on May 18 in the bottom of a trash can and dog hair and a toenail on a cookie sheet and pizza pan in the oven, court documents said.

A necropsy found that the dog’s whiskers were burned, it had burn marks on its legs and feet and blood on its snout and mouth.

Court documents say Clark told one of the friends that he had killed the dog about 30 minutes before its body was discovered, but the friend did not believe him. The dog’s owners had no idea of Clark’s motive.

He also told one of the friends that he “could take care of that dog, too” when a pitbull walked past them, the documents said.

The friends ordered Clark to leave their home after they found Zane dead, court documents said.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up