Sklyer Christian Griffin
An Oak Ridge man stabbed a dog, which died from its wounds, and then started a fire in the living room of a home on Villanova Avenue on Friday, according to police.
Skyler C. Griffin, 19, has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, aggravated arson, and vandalism, according to affidavits filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court in Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Kenneth Prickett said Griffin came through the front door of an apartment on Villanova Avenue on Friday and physically attacked a 10-year-old male beagle mix that lives there.
“Griffin admitted to striking the dog with his hands and closed fists before pulling out his pocket knife and stabbing the dog in the neck and in the lower abdomen,” Prickett said. “The dog ran from the living room area and onto the outside balcony, where it succumbed to the stab wounds.”
While the dog was on the balcony, Griffin walked into the bathroom and gathered all the bath towels, Prickett said in the affidavits. Griffin also grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and returned to the living room, according to the affidavits.
“Griffin walked to the balcony and brought the dog back into the living room and then lay him back on the carpet,” Prickett said. “Griffin then placed the towels on the carpet in the living room and poured the alcohol on the towels and carpet and lit it with a lighter from his pocket.”
Once the fire was lit, Prickett said, Griffin left the apartment and walked back to his home on West Vanderbilt Drive.
The carpet in the living room was burned, and blood stains were visible from the living room to the balcony, Prickett said in the affidavits.
Griffin was booked into the Anderson County Detention Facility at 7:31 a.m. Friday. His bond has been set at $86,000, according to jail records. Griffin remained jailed Friday night.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Copyright 2017 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Susan Gawarecki says
19 years old is considered legally an adult–the headline tends to minimize that fact.
Animal abuse is a known precursor to abusing people. I hope he gets some real punishment and counseling as well.