Bluffton woman suspected of beating ducks to death with tiki torch, police report says
UPDATE: The charge against the Bluffton woman was dismissed on July 8, 2021, nearly a year after she was charged, and later expunged from her record, according to expungement papers provided by the woman.
A Bluffton woman is expected to face animal cruelty charges after a neighbor said she beat two ducks to death with a tiki torch near her home, according to a police report.
Police are seeking to charge the woman after her neighbor recorded a portion of the incident on video Wednesday evening at a home east of Hampton Lake, according to a report from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
The neighbor told the Sheriff’s Office he heard two gunshots Wednesday after 5 p.m. and walked outside to see his neighbor and her young son “standing next to two injured ducks that were flailing around on the ground,” the report said.
It said he began recording the woman on video as she “beat both ducks with a tiki torch until they stopped moving/making noise.”
She put the ducks in a paper bag, and the neighbor watched the woman “dispose” of them in the woods, according to the report.
“The video is evidence, and the incident is under investigation,” said Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Bob Bromage.
The birds were Muscovy ducks, according to S.C. Department of Natural Resources spokesperson David Lucas. Because it is a domesticated bird and non-protected, the incident is being handled by local law enforcement, he said.
A sheriff’s deputy made contact with the woman Thursday, and she said she killed the ducks because she was tired of them pooping on her yard and driveway. She also told the deputy the ducks were messing with her cats, according to the report.
She “stated she did not shoot either of the ducks but did not deny beating them to death,” the report said.
It said the deputy is obtaining an arrest warrant to charge her with animal cruelty.
In Beaufort County, animal cruelty is a misdemeanor. The Island Packet does not name those charged with misdemeanors unless they are in a position of authority or public trust.
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 5:27 PM.
