Bloomington man tortured, drowned puppies he adopted, court doc alleges

BLOOMINGTON — A man faces animal-cruelty-related charges stemming from the alleged torture and drowning of two puppies he adopted.

Connor Lappin, 29, of Bloomington, admitted during an April 8 interview with police that he intentionally killed the dogs by drowning them, then poured bleach on them, wrapped them up, and buried them in wooded areas, according to a probable cause affidavit filed April 12.

Bloomington police began their investigation on April 7 after receiving a report indicating Lappin may have been sexually abusing and killing a puppy he adopted on Feb. 10 from the Monroe County Animal Shelter.

Investigators were told that Lappin, before adopting that animal, had described in detail how he drowned his last dog in his bathtub. They were told he held the dog underwater until it almost died but repeatedly let it back up before eventually drowning it to death, according to the affidavit.

Persons interviewed by police said they believed Lappin sexually assaulted the dogs before killing them.

Police spoke with Lappin on April 8 at the Monroe County Jail, where he was being held in connection to an unrelated arrest. There, he initially told police the dog he adopted in February ran away before admitting he had drowned two puppies sometime between late last year and February and buried their bodies, according to the affidavit.

Lappin told police he had the second dog for about a week before he killed it. When asked why he killed the dogs, Lappin said he had been using methamphetamine and that one of the dogs had urinated everywhere, the affidavit alleges.

Lappin was charged with two felony counts each of torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal and failure to properly dispose of a dead animal.

A pretrial conference for Lappin is scheduled for June 13 at Monroe Circuit Court.