Warning: The details in this story may be difficult to read.
A man from Hartford has been sentenced to five years in prison for the gruesome killing of a pet rabbit, according to the U.S. Division of Criminal Justice.
Officials said a 29-year-old faces five years in jail, execution suspended after one year served. He was charged with malicious killing of an animal in the first degree.
The man was arrested in October 2019 during a traffic stop in Tolland. Police saw a car swerving and pulled them over.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
When the trooper walked up to the car, they saw scissors covered in blood and animal fur on the front passenger's seat, with a cardboard box on the floor.
In the box, police saw a bloody tricolored rabbit that was "in clear medical distress." Investigators determined that the man had purchased the rabbit half an hour before being pulled over.
Authorities said he dismembered the rabbit while it was still alive. It was later euthanized, authorities said. The man told authorities he had initially intended on buying a dog, but didn't say what changed his mind.
