Police: Woman Kills Dog to Help Fake Miscarriage

An Alabama woman is facing felony animal cruelty charges after, authorities say, she killed her Chihuahua in a failed attempt to fool her husband into thinking she had a miscarriage. After killing the animal, Anita Parker, 43, allegedly sliced open its stomach to gather blood and tissue to aid in her deception, WHNT reports. Investigators in Lawrence County say Parker had lied about being pregnant to convince her husband to move back in with her. Johnny Parker tells ABC 7 that his wife told him she was pregnant with a boy seven months ago. But, he says, she never let him go to doctor appointments. "I guess she pushed her belly out all the time, because she looked like she was," he says, "and she sends me pictures of the ultrasounds."

Anita Parker—who, her husband says, has a history of drug use—complained of cramping on Wednesday, per ABC. When Johnny Parker arrived home to check on her, he found her covered in blood and claiming she flushed her stillborn baby down the toilet. Upon going to the hospital, though, doctors determined she had never been pregnant. Following that bombshell, Johnny Parker went home and found the 8-month-old Chihuahua's remains in a trashcan. "It hurts like crap, man, about my dog. I loved that dog, man," Johnny Parker tells ABC 7. Anita Parker was booked in jail on $7,000 bond, WAFF reports. (More Alabama stories.)