Texas man filmed beating turtle to death with hammer
Fisherman on tape says it was self-defence as it lunged at him
The two fishermen thought they had a whopper on the end of the line. It was a late June evening at Lady Bird Lake, a reservoir in Austin, Texas, when 55-year-old Terry Wayne Washington and a friend began reeling in the hefty catch.
Along the shore, passers-by stopped to watch the struggle. But there was no giant fish bending the pole in half. The men had snagged a large snapping turtle. When it was weighed later, the turtle tipped the scale at 18kg.
With the claw end of a hammer, Washington’s companion hooked the shell to pull the animal on land. The turtles had been bothering the two all day, the fisherman later told police, as they were chasing fish away. Onlookers said it appeared as if he wanted to free the turtle. But then Washington took the hammer. Once the turtle was on shore, according to witnesses, the spectacle took a sickening turn.
A “blood trail from the water’s edge all the way to the turtle, which was approximately 75 feet away” was left at the scene, according to a police affidavit obtained by the Dallas Morning
A jogger named Geoffrey Frank saw the blood, and the action that drew it. In a graphic video he posted to Facebook, it is possible to hear the meaty crack of the hammer against the turtle shell over Frank’s murmurs of protest.
The animal was still hooked with the fishing line. Washington struck the animal at least 10 times, police told Fox 7, caving in its skull.
Frank’s Facebook footage tipped off authorities about the crime. Washington confessed to killing the animal two days later, turning himself in at Gardner Betts Juvenile Detention Facility. On Tuesday, just over a month after the turtle slaying, authorities charged Washington with cruelty to a non-livestock animal. He was also charged with two misdemeanours related to killing wildlife. Washington said that he was simply protecting himself. The reptile had lunged at him, he said, according to the affidavit.