He Claimed Her Pet Died Naturally, But Cell Phone Videos Exposed Florida Man’s Deadly Dog Torture

A Florida man has received the maximum prison sentence of five years after admitting to killing his former girlfriend’s dog, an act uncovered months later through video recordings stored on a phone.

Cole Daughtry pleaded guilty at his first pretrial hearing to one count of aggravated animal cruelty, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

According to authorities, the investigation began in August 2026 when Daughtry’s then-girlfriend was scrolling through older media on her phone and found February recordings involving her dog, Nina.

The clips showed Daughtry torturing the animal on multiple occasions. In the recordings, the dog’s snout and legs were bound with tape, and Daughtry was seen strangling her. The abuse resulted in the dog’s death.

Daughtry had previously told the woman that Nina died of natural causes, and he buried the dog while she was away from the home. After discovering the footage, she confronted Daughtry and immediately reported the incident to police.

Following the plea, Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook addressed the case’s resolution.

“To call this case disturbing is simply an understatement and there’s no excuse for this kind of cruelty,” Cook said. “I’m grateful to our detectives who worked on this case and our partners at the State Attorney’s Office in holding this defendant accountable.”

Daughtry will serve the full statutory maximum of five years behind bars for the felony charge.

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