An Arizona man was arrested and charged with animal cruelty after a menagerie of pets — including snakes, lizards, birds, dogs, and rabbits — were found in his freezer.
Michael Patrick Turland faces 94 counts of animal cruelty after Mohave County deputies uncovered his frozen collection of dead animals, including some that — Turland allegedly admitted — he froze alive.
According to police, on April 3, police and animal control officers went to Turland’s Golden Valley, Arizona, home after a woman called authorities complaining that Turland had not returned some snakes she let him borrow for breeding purposes, the Associated Press reports.
The owner of the home that Turland was living in later told police that they discovered the approximately 183 dead animals in a basement freezer after Turland and his wife had vacated the property.
Authorities also noted in a statement, “Several of the animals appeared to have been frozen alive due to their body positioning.”
Turland ultimately returned to the property on Wednesday, at which point police arrested him and charged him with 94 felony counts of animal cruelty. Mohave County police said in a statement that Turland was booked into Mohave County Detention Center following his arrest.