Virginia man charged in animal cruelty case

Warning: The following report contains descriptions that are graphic and disturbing.

A Virginia teen, arrested last week on felony charges of cruelty to animals and crimes against nature for sexually assaulting or killing several animals, has been transferred to a state mental hospital for psychological evaluation.

John Morgan Murray  Jr., 18, of Norfolk, Va., was charged last Monday with three felony counts of cruelty to animals and two felony counts of crimes against nature.

Murray was placed under a $1 million bond and jailed at the Watauga County Detention Center on Oct. 10.

Two days later, Judge Kyle Austin ordered Murray transferred to the Dorothea Dix Hospital where mental health experts will attempt to determine his competence to stand trial.

The judge’s order allows no more than 60 days for the director of Dorothea Dix to provide a written report of Murray’s mental state before his return to custody in Watauga County.

In a motion requesting the evaluation, court-appointed defense attorney Powell Glidewell stated his client had been “severely depressed” and “attempted suicide on three separate occasions.”

Glidewell also referenced Murray’s “long history of mental health problems” in the motion.

The charges arise out of allegations Murray twisted the neck of a rooster and gouged out its eye “with the rooster’s own claw.” He is accused of sexually assaulting and drowning the animal as well.

The arrest warrants also allege Murray kicked and stabbed a duck with a pitchfork, killing it.

The final charge claims Murray strangled and stomped a cat to death.

The animals were reportedly the property of a farm in Sugar Grove, where Murray reportedly was staying.

A sheriff’s department incident report indicates the dead animals were discovered about 2 a.m.

— By Jerry Sena, staff writer