Missouri woman kills dog, burns its remains as part of 'ritual sacrifice'

A 29-year-old American woman has been charged with killing her mother's beloved pet dog and then burning its remains as part of a reported ritual sacrifice on Thursday.

Brianna Lingo from Missouri has been charged with animal abuse by torture and mutilation while the dog was still alive, and stealing an animal. Lingo committed the crime at her mother's house in Moberly, just north of Columbia. It came to light after the woman's mother called 911 asking for help.

According to her mother, Lingo killed her dog, a terrier mix, as part of "ritual sacrifice." The police officers found the dog's remains in a fire pit in the courtyard of the house, per a report in The Mirror.

Lingo first strangled the dog and then burnt its body, per the detectives. She was arrested and transported to Randolph County Jail where she is being held on a $15,000 (£12,300) bond. She did not elaborate as to why she committed the act. She is due back in court on June 21 for a bond hearing.

Under the PACT (Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture) Bill, animal cruelty crimes are punishable with up to seven years in prison and hefty fines in the United States. It also bans the creation and distribution of videos that show animals being crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled or subjected to other forms of torture.

In another case of animal cruelty reported from the US state of Florida earlier this year, a woman allegedly threw her ex-boyfriend's pet dog off a condominium balcony during an argument with the man. The dog did not survive the fall.

The police identified the woman as 46-year-old Shelley Vaughn of Clearwater. During an altercation with her boyfriend, Vaughn picked up his 3-year-old pug, named Bucky, and threw it off the seventh floor. She also threw her ex-boyfriend's cell phone and keys off the balcony and hit him.