California authorities say there is “a special place in hell” for an Orange County man accused of brutally killing his pregnant 6-year-old Maltese earlier this month. He now faces multiple felony charges in connection with the dog’s death.
“Only someone who is pure evil could engage in such reprehensible conduct,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement announcing charges against 58-year-old Eric Lyn Holliday.
Prosecutors allege Holliday killed his dog by tying a rope from his SUV to a parking bollard, looping it around the animal’s neck, and then driving forward “until the animal’s neck had been snapped,” according to Spitzer.
Holliday, of Buena Park, Calif., was already on probation at the time after pleading guilty to a felony assault charge on Oct. 15 in an unrelated case, authorities said. He is now charged with one felony count of animal cruelty and one felony count of possession of a controlled substance with two or more prior convictions. Prosecutors say Holliday had “several baggies of methamphetamine” on him when he was arrested. If convicted on both felony counts, he faces up to 13 years in prison.
“There is a special place in hell for people who abuse animals,” Spitzer said. “This was not an act of rage. This was a clear plan to kill a defenseless animal, and when he executed his plan, he drove off, leaving the animal’s body in the alley for someone else to discover the horror of what he had done.”
The incident allegedly occurred in an alley in Anaheim. According to the district attorney’s office, surveillance video shows Holliday turning his vehicle into the alley around 7:35 a.m. on Dec. 1. The footage allegedly captures him getting out of the SUV, securing a rope to a parking bollard and around the dog’s neck, and then driving forward.
After the dog was killed, “Holliday is seen on the video getting out to look at the dog before getting back in his vehicle and driving away, leaving the dead dog in the alley,” the DA’s office said.
“The dog, believed to be a 6-year-old Maltese, had suffered a severed spine and arteries,” according to the release.
Several hours later, a manager from a nearby business discovered the animal in the alley and called police.
“Violence against animals will never be tolerated, and every act of animal abuse will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Spitzer said. According to his office, Deputy District Attorney Michael Chay of the Consumer & Environmental Protection Unit has been assigned to prosecute the case.
