Thinking her Dachshund Chihuahua mix Nina had died of natural causes and was buried by her boyfriend, months later a Middleburg woman came across a horrifying video that showed otherwise.
Bound with blue tape around her legs and snout, the Chiweenie dog was being strangled by her boyfriend in the footage, she reported to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 2.
Cole Daughtry was arrested a few days later on a charge of aggravated animal cruelty. On Oct. 6 the 26-year-old pleaded guilty and was sentenced to the statutory maximum of five years in prison, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
In the arrest report, the girlfriend said the pair lived together and shared a cellphone. She could identify Daughtry by the tattoos on his hands in the video.
She said she confronted him, and he started crying and apologizing saying he was offered money from someone on the internet to do it.
Daughtry also told investigators he heard voices in his head telling him to strangle the dog and admitted burying Nina in the woods with a friend.
In a letter to Judge Steven Whittington, Daughtry apologized to his former girlfriend and “all of society” accepting responsibility. He said he’s struggled with drug abuse since graduating from Middleburg High School in 2018.
“I know my addictions are the root cause of my bad choices,” he wrote. “… I was high on methamphetamine and fentanyl while I committed the crime I’m before you for. I know that isn’t my true self or any kind of justification for my actions, and I want to make a positive change.”
He asked for a chance to be put in a program to help him overcome his addictions.
Scott Butler has been an editor/reporter specializing in public safety coverage for 26 years with The Florida Times-Union. He can be reached at sbutler@jacksonville.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Clay County man video recorded himself strangling girlfriend's dog
