A 43-year-old Arizona man, Michael Patrick Turland, has been arrested on 94 counts of animal cruelty. Turland, of Golden Valley in Mohave County, was charged with freezing 183 animals to death in his garage chest freezer. Some of the frozen animals included dogs, cats, lizards, birds, rats, rabbits, snakes, and mice, with animal control officers saying most of the animals were frozen alive.
According to county deputy reports, Turland had rented the apartment but had vacated it with his wife when the dead animals were discovered. A woman reported to officials that Turland had borrowed some snakes from her for breeding and that he could not be reached to return the reptiles. County officials visited his home and found the frozen animals on April 3.
When Turland came to the apartment on Wednesday, his landlord alerted county deputies, and he was promptly arrested. After some time, he agreed that he owned the animals and that some of them were frozen while still alive. His wife is listed as Brooklyn Beck, but she has not been taken into custody yet.
It is not known if Turland has an attorney, but he will soon be arraigned in court on charges of animal cruelty.
