January 04, 2018 02:45 PM
UPDATED 2 MINUTES AGO
By the end of the bloody and drunken Christmas morning rampage, 20 chickens were dead, according to police in Milford, Conn.
The alleged killer, Gregory Ulrich, 28, raided two chicken coops in the coastal Connecticut community around 3 a.m., ripping the animals’ heads off their bodies using his bare hands, police said.
Then Ulrich tossed the dead animals in a bag, saying he would cook and eat the stolen chickens. The killings were “gruesome,” police said.
But that was only the very end of a wild night that landed Ulrich and John Budnovitch, 21 — who police say drove Ulrich on the rampage — with 20 animal cruelty charges. The pair also face larceny, criminal mischief and related charges, according to police.
“Ulrich was highly intoxicated and was in a jealous rage,” Officer Michael DeVito told the Hartford Courant.
What sparked the jealousy? Photos Ulrich had caught on social media of his wife with other people, DeVito told the newspaper.
When Ulrich left a bar early Christmas morning, drunk and upset about his wife, police say he had Budnovitch drive him to the home of the people he was jealous of. Once Ulrich got there, he leaned out the window of the moving car to smash “several” car windows with an ax, according to police.
Next came the chickens, according to police. Ulrich directed Budnovitch to drive him to a separate property where there were chickens.
“[N]ow it’s like 3 or 4 in the morning, [Ulrich] tells him, ‘I’m going behind this house,’ ” DeVito told the Courant.
That’s when Ulrich stole and killed his first 10 chickens of the morning, police said.
“He banged them on the ground to kill them and snapped the heads off,” DeVito told the newspaper.
After that, Ulrich and Budnovitch headed to another house, where Ulrich ripped off the chicken coop doors and killed 10 more chickens with his bare hands, police said.
Some of the chickens’ remains were found in nearby yards, police told NBC Connecticut.
Ulrich and Budnovitch, both residents of Milford, were arrested Wednesday and released on bail. Ulrich’s bail was set at $15,000 and Budnovitch’s at $5,000, police said.
The duo’s next court appearance is Jan. 30.
Police made sure Ulrich’s wife was safe, and told the Courant that there was no indication Ulrich planned to harm her.
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