Woman arrested, accused of killing grandmother’s dog

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - A Memphis woman faces felony animal cruelty charges after investigators say she killed her grandmother’s dog and left parts of it around the house.

Friday, Memphis Police arrested 18-year-old Kyoko Smith for a gruesome crime.

Investigators say Smith killed her grandmother's Shih Tzu, Lucy, by cutting off the dog's head and putting it in a dresser drawer.

She also allegedly took the dog's heart and put it in the freezer.

“I really hate to hear that. Why someone would do that to a dog? I have no idea. Just sad to hear, very sad to hear,” said Kevin Gause, neighbor.

One neighbor on Millers Pond Circle who didn’t want to be identified, told us a chilling story of finding Smith looking over their fence late one night, staring at their dog.

“I asked her, 'hey, what are you doing?' She said, 'oh your dog is cold, your dog is cold.' That's the only thing she'd say,” one neighbor said.

The neighbors we spoke to say Lucy’s owners are good people. One person even said they were helping to take care of their granddaughter, who was having problems.

“They're good neighbors. They came over, helped me out with my yard. I help them. So they're very friendly neighbors,” said Gause.

According to a police affidavit, Smith admitted one of the dog's owners that she killed the dog and received pictures of the dead animal from Smith's mother.

Smith is charged with intentionally killing an animal, a felony.

We went to her last known address listed on the police report. A man at that location told us we had the wrong address and closed the door.

Neighbors say their thoughts are with the dog's owners.

Smith is currently out on bond. She is due in court Monday.