ATHENS, Ga. — A University of Georgia student made a disturbing discovery while visiting a local river park: beheaded animals floating in the river.
Athens-Clarke County police were called to North Oconee River Park in late September. Investigators said the student was observing wildlife at the location using a trail camera when she found the dead, beheaded animals and called police.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
According to a report from ACCPD, officers found two dead goats floating near the shoreline, as well as a black trash bag.
In total, three goats, three crows and a goose were recovered, all had been beheaded. Officers said in the report that they were unable to find all of the heads, though two were recovered.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Man calls 911 to get out of paying for Red Lobster meal, police say
- 3 men accused of illegally possessing more than 100 Viagra pills without prescription
- Will Reeve of ‘Good Morning America’ reveals diagnosis for testicular cancer
Police said they requested assistance from animal control to recover the dead animals and recover the bodies for examination.
In addition to decapitation, officers said the goats had bags of gravel rocks inserted into them, which “may have been done by the suspect to weigh” them down in the water so they would not be discovered.
ACCPD said this was not the first time officers responded to cases where goats and other animals were “either mutilated or ritualistically sacrificed and discarded in public places, often concealed in black trash bags.”
However, officers noted in the report that the Sept. 24 finding was “the greatest number of goat carcasses recovered in a single area, during a single incident.”
The officers said that the larger number of animals could mean the suspect would become more violent, but weren’t sure if that meant other Athens residents were in danger.
“None of these animals appeared to have been butchered or killed for consumption as food,” the police report said. “The carcasses were largely intact and retained fur, hooves, tails and so on.”
Police also said they did not know if the animals were raised by the suspect or if they were purchased beforehand.
“One thing is evident,” officers noted. “These killings serve no other purpose than to satiate the violent tendencies of someone who kills animals simply to kill them.”
The matter remains under investigation.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
