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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane County deputies arrest man accused of killing, mutilating horse to get back at ex-girlfriend

Clint Burrill (right) makes his first appearance in court on May 22, 2018 on charges that he tortured and killed his ex-girlfriend’s horse. (Jonathan Glover / The Spokesman-Review)

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies say a man killed and mutilated one of his horses because his ex-girlfriend didn’t want to be with him anymore.

Clinton P. Burrill, 45, was arrested Monday and faces a charge of first-degree animal cruelty, a felony. In court Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Tony Hazel set bond at $20,000.

Deputies say they were called to Burrill’s residence in the 9500 block of East Woolard Road in north Spokane County at about 10 a.m. Monday, where they found a horse laying on its side on a steep hill just outside of the horse pen, according to court records.

The horse was tied to a fence at its front ankles by a short rope, and another rope was tied around its neck, court records say. Its tail was chopped off and the ground near the animal was “torn up from an apparent struggle where it appeared the horse had exhaled a large amount of blood from its nose and mouth.”

Deputies believe the animal was tortured before it was killed, because of a large amount of blood that apparently came from its nose and mouth.

Deputies left the residence and began applying for a search warrant, when they said Burrill arrived on the property in a flatbed pickup, according to a news release. After a brief chase on foot, Burrill surrendered and was arrested without incident. He was booked in Spokane County Jail at about 1:30 p.m.

Earlier Tuesday, Burrill’s ex-girlfriend called deputies and reported a bag of items on her front porch, deputies said. Believing it to be left by Burrill, she opened it and discovered a handkerchief tied around a lock of horse tail hairs with the tag “77” on it.

Deputies believe the bag was left to “scare, intimidate and harass” the woman.

Court records say the woman, who until recently lived with Burrill at his home, ended the relationship several months ago because she believed he had “serious mental health issues which caused him to be violent with her.”

According to the woman’s statement to deputies, Burrill called her Sunday night and said if she did not get back together with him, he would kill her favorite horse – a red- and white-colored stud.