Group killed piglets by tossing them off overpass, beating them, police say

Two men and two others have been arrested and charged with stealing, torturing and killing week-old pigs in Franklin County.

The men remained in custody Friday; the two others, ages 15 and 17, were released to their parents.

The four are charged with stealing about 30 pigs, which were younger than a week. The pigs, each worth about $500, were stolen from the Logan Sow Center in Benton on Sunday.

Trenton H. Bennett, of West Frankfort, 18, and Brendan A. Shaputis, of Ewing, are charged with theft and animal torture. They are accused of having “tortured multiple piglets, causing the death of the piglets, by throwing a piglet off an overpass and kicking, beating and striking the remaining piglets with a rake until death.”

Bennett’s bail was set at $45,000 and he has a preliminary hearing scheduled on Oct. 18; Shaputis’ case information was not on the court’s website as of Friday afternoon.

This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Group killed piglets by tossing them off overpass, beating them, police say."