Woman borrows brother’s phone, finds video of him killing her dog, Georgia cops say

A Georgia man is facing “disturbing” animal cruelty accusations after video found on his cellphone showed him killing a family member’s dog, according to the Griffin Police Department.

The video was discovered after he lent the phone to his sister, Courtney Smith, who owned the missing pit bull, police said in a news release.

Harvey Willis Smith Jr. has been charged with aggravated felony cruelty to animals, officials said.

Griffin Police Chief Mike Yates called it “one of the most disturbing animal cruelty cases” he has dealt with in 30 years on the job. The town is about 45 miles south of downtown Atlanta.

“I cannot comprehend the mind of an individual who would community such acts on an innocent and defenseless animal,” Yates said in the release.

The investigation began in early February, when Courtney Smith reported to police that she discovered photos and video on her brother’s cellphone of him killing her dog, officials said.

Among the recordings was one of her brother “holding a severed dog’s head” and “moving its jaw as if it was talking,” police said.

Courtney Smith told police she had left the dog in her brother’s care during an extended trip to New York from November 2019 through March of 2021. The dog was missing when she returned, and she said she was unaware of what happened to it.

“When she questioned her brother about the photos, he admitted the dog was hers and that he had ‘put the dog out of its misery’ in a joking manner,” police said.

Harvey Smith Jr. denied killing the pet during police questioning but did say “he had ‘eaten the dog’ after it had been hit by a car,” officials said.

“The photos provided did not support his account of the incident,” police said.

This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Woman borrows brother’s phone, finds video of him killing her dog, Georgia cops say."