Police: Man Broke into Ex-girlfriend's Apartment, Killed Her Pet Snake

A 21-year-old Stillwater man allegedly stole the key to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and then broke in Wednesday morning, killing her pet snake because he thought she was “cheating” on him.

Stillwater Police were flagged down by a 25-year-old Stillwater woman early Wednesday morning who told the officers that her ex-boyfriend “broke in” to her apartment in the 200 block of Myrtle Street and “trashed” the place.

When police arrived, they saw a 21-year-old Stillwater man standing outside in the woman's driveway with blood all over his hands. The man then allegedly turned to the woman and said she “did not want to go inside and see what he had done,” the police report states.

So the officers went into the woman’s apartment, noting broken glass and items scattered all over the floor. The words “I loved you” were written in blood on the hardwood floor, according to the police report. The officer also found a note that read “I will kill you” on the woman’s refrigerator and found her pet corn snake dead, with a knife stuck in the reptile’s mid-section, the report states.

Police then went outside and arrested the 21-year-old man on suspicion of five felony counts of: making terroristic threats, second-degree burglary, first-degree criminal damage to property and animal torture.

The woman told police she was out at a coffee shop in Minneapolis with some friends when she received 46 calls from the man (between 11:40 p.m. July 12 and 1:03 a.m. July 13), as well as about six voicemails and numerous text messages.

The man told police he was upset about his recent break-up with the woman, the complaint states. The man told officers that he loved her and “would do anything for her.” The man also told police he thought she was cheating on him.

The woman told police the two had been broken up for at least a week.

In all, police allege that the man caused more than $1,000 in damages to the woman’s property and stole a video game console and numerous games, all of which were recovered at the man’s home.

Felony charges have been forwarded to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review.