Son who beat mom’s elderly dog to death caught on home security video, Indiana cops say

An Indiana family was preparing to bury Gypsy, their mother’s elderly border collie that had apparently died of natural causes — but then they watched home security footage inside the home, media outlets report.

It changed everything.

Melissa Howard told police that she and her husband went to their mom’s house Sunday in Greenwood and found 16-year-old Gypsy had died, WISH reported. Howard’s brother, Michael Lukas, who also lived at the home, told her that he had “no idea” how the dog died, police said, the Indianapolis TV station reported.

Just as Howard’s husband was putting Gypsyin a box and nailing it shut for burial, she stopped him, according to a police report.

Howard later told police that she had found home security video that appeared to show Lukas beating the dog to death that morning, WTHR reported. According to police, an approximately 12-minute clip of abuse shows Lukas screaming profanities at Gypsy and kicking and throwing her to the ground until she stopped moving, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Cheryl Lukas, the owner of Gypsy and the mother of Howard and Michael Lukas, wasn’t home during the beating, WTHR reported.

Police questioned Michael Lukas about the dog’s death, and he denied any knowledge of how Gypsy died until investigators told him about the video footage, according to WIBC.

Cheryl Lukas told police she didn’t understand why her son would kill Gypsy because the dog slept with him in his bed on most nights, the Indianapolis Star reported. She told police that she wanted her son out of the house because she still has three cats living there, the newspaper reported.

Michael Lukas, 35, was charged with felony killing of a domestic animal, WIBC reported.

This story was originally published July 29, 2019 at 10:11 AM with the headline "Son who beat mom’s elderly dog to death caught on home security video, Indiana cops say."