Iowa Man Who Beat and Beheaded Rabbit at an Animal Shelter Gets Sentenced 2 Years

The man who beat to death and beheaded a rabbit at a Des Moines area animal shelter pleaded guilty last month to a charge of animal torture.

Polk County court records show that Bobby Carothers, 64, plead guilty and requested immediate sentencing, and received a sentence of two years.

Employees at Animal Rescue League animal shelter identified Carothers as the last visitor to the building. He was asked to leave by employees, to one he replied "I'm having rabbit stew tonight."

It wasn't long before employees came across the battered and decapitated rabbit, Petunia.

A deputy arrested Carothers three hours later after a fire alarm was pulled at a trucking company nearby. He had talked freely with people about killing the rabbit earlier that evening. He told the deputy he'd used a stick to kill and cut off the head of the rabbit. When asked why he did it, he told the deputy he was hungry.