NAME: Michael Martin John OConnell, 50 WHERE: South Australia CRIME: Slaughtering six miniature horses by slashing their throats after a building dispute Julie Jackson said Michael Martin John OConnell slashed the throats of the horses after a dispute about building work at her horse stud at Clayton Bay, about 70km south of Adelaide. He really does deserve to go to jail, she told reporters. Michael Martin John OConnell, who slaughtered six miniature horses in December, pleaded guilty to trespassing, a charge aggravated by his intention to commit a crime. The crime involved destroying property worth more than $30,000 and his use of an offensive weapon. In March the Middleton man attended court with a security guard, where he admitted to destroying property. This charge related to his killing the two colts and four fillies, all aged about two-years-old, in December. After he admitted to trespassing on, prosecutors dropped six counts of ill-treating an animal as a single damage to property charge carries heavier penalties. Outside court, Ms Jackson said she would love OConnell to go to jail, describing him as a very, very dangerous man. Since the killings, Ms Jackson and her husband have sold the breeding and show stud stables and moved to another property. The stables horse trainer Terry Hocking also called for the jailing of OConnell, after previously revealing his shock at seeing the six horses with their throats cut. I went straight to the first box, of the horse I love dearly, and his throat was slashed, he said at the time. And I went down, and I just kept finding one after another. There were three in the box that were very traumatized and we got them out a little later, so its going to take some time for them to come back to reality, Mr Hocking said. Ms Jackson said they had received incredible world-wide public support after the slaughter.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Sep 2014 04:50:55 +0000
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