A 24-year-old man has admitted killing a pet dog in Dundee by stabbing it several times with a screwdriver.
The remains of Buddy the German Shepherd were found burned and buried in a shallow grave in a public park after the horrific attack.
Bradley Simpson was remanded in custody after he admitted carrying out the killing at his family home in Dundee on April 1 this year.
Simpson was locked up pending the preparation of reports after a sheriff was told he had already been freed five times on bail prior to the attack.
At Dundee Sheriff Court, he admitted causing a protected animal unnecessary suffering by repeatedly stabbing it with a screwdriver in the city’s Honeygreen Road and Linlathen Park.
Public help in missing dog search
Buddy – which belonged to the accused’s mother Maureen Murdoch – had been in the family home when they went to bed but was missing the next morning.
A social media alert was posted for the missing animal and a search was carried out by worried members of the public.
Witnesses were walking in Linlathen park when they saw a fire but they initially thought nothing of it as blazes were a regular occurrence in the area.
Meanwhile, Mrs Murdoch observed a pool of blood at the door of her home and splashes of blood within the living room and kitchen area.
When she went outside to investigate, she saw further blood spattering on the side of the house.
Simpson was quizzed and made comments about killing the dog and telling his family they would never see him again.
He later spoke about being inspired to carry out the horrific slaying of the family pet after watching a Netflix series based around rescue dogs.
Burned remains in park
It emerged witnesses in the park saw a scorched patch of ground close to a mound of disturbed soil, which looked like it had been recently dug.
When the mound was scraped back it revealed the charred remains of a dog, subsequently confirmed to be missing Buddy.
Simpson, from St Andrews, had his not guilty plea accepted to a second charge of setting fire to the dog and burying its remains in an attempt to conceal his crime.
Past conviction and bail orders
He had been granted bail on June 22 2020, and February 14, February 21, March 23 and March 31 this year.
His last release was hours before the killing.
Solicitor Theo Finlay, defending, said: “The case has been continued on several occasions to enable us to have him psychiatrically examined.
“Plainly the circumstances here stand on their own.
“Plainly it is his view there was a drug-induced psychosis.
“Today he is more coherent than he has been.
“He is not a habitual drug user but he became involved in some misuse in the last few months and it has had a pretty catastrophic effect on him mentally.
“It seems the substances he was taking had a pretty dramatic and catastrophic effect.
“Given the exceptional nature of the circumstances, it would be appropriate to consider a report.”
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis deferred sentence for reports and remanded Simpson in custody, telling him: “I consider there’s a significant risk of you reoffending.”
Simpson has a number of previous convictions, including for domestic abuse, under-age sex offending, theft and assault to permanent disfigurement.
