Animal Cruelty Investigation

By Parul Joshi
Reporter
Published: January 6, 2009

It’s got to be one of the most horrifying cases of animal abuse in our state’s history and investigators say it happened right here in the East. There are images in this case that are simply too disturbing to share at the dinner hour. 

Wayne County Animal Control Director Justin Scally says, “Officers responded to the scene and found multiple animals that were being neglected or were dismembered and others decapitated.“

The animals included dogs, puppies, snakes, a turtle, goats and birds. Scally says 28-year-old Lawton McKenzie is responsible: “Originally during his statements he indicated that these animals were hit by vehicles and killed on the road, that he had not killed the animals. But when we asked why he had them, he made statements such as he used the bones for necklaces and made a comment about practicing taxidermy.“

Scally says he and his staff also found machetes at the scene along with bowls of blood. Scally says, “Most of it was going on outside. Some deceased animals’ parts were found inside his home, in the freezer, which included a goat’s head and some owls.“

But some animals survived. These dogs are now in protective custody with Wayne County Animal Control and are recovering. Scally says, “…To see a situation like that is certainly very distressing; it did bother us.“

Authorities say their investigation began with a concerned phone call nearly a month ago and that this case is far from over. Around 5:00 p.m Tuesday the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office arrested Lawton McKenzie and charged him with 3 counts of animal cruelty. We talked with several people who live near McKenzie and they tell us at times they were concerned about what was going on inside his home. Some wonder if this case is linked to cult-like activity. Investigators say they aren’t ruling anything out, but they say they haven’t come to that conclusion yet. For more details on this investigation, please go to our home page and type in the keyword: investigation.