Mugshot Jonathan Watkins
Jonathan Watkins is a Kentucky man who is accused of skinning his neighbors’ dogs to make a “doggy coat.”
The terrible tale emerged out of Floyd, Kentucky. Watkins is accused of telling his neighbor, “I’ve been skinning dogs.” He’d actually done it, authorities say; they allege that they found skinned dog carcasses and four animal skins on Watkins’ front porch, according to WYMT-TV.
Watkins was previously accused of murdering his stepfather.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Watkins Is Accused of Telling a State Trooper He Was Trying to Make a ‘Doggy Coat’
The dog skinning incident occurred two days before Christmas when a caller told police that his neighbor, Watkins, had killed his two dogs, “skinned them and had them hanging off his front porch banister,” according to WYMT-TV.
Watkins then showed up asking for a cigarette and covered in blood, at which point he allegedly claimed he was skinning dogs, the television station reported. Two different neighbors were collectively missing four dogs. The agency involved was the Kentucky State police.
At that point, a trooper confronted the bloodied Watkins, who had a “large hunting knife” on his belt. That’s when he allegedly said, according to WYMT: “I’m making myself a doggy coat.”
He allegedly admitted killing the neighbor’s dogs, saying, according to the TV station: “Yes, there isn’t anything wrong with me making myself a fur coat.”
It wasn’t a joke; the trooper found skinned dog carcasses on the property.
2. Watkins Was Previously Accused of Shooting His Stepfather, a Deputy Jailer, to Death
According to WYMT, Watkins was previously accused in the murder of Magoffin County Deputy Jailer Albert Bloomfield. Bloomfield was Watkins’ stepfather, the television station reported.
Bloomfield’s obituary says he was only 45-years-old when he died in 2012 at his residence in Salyersville, Kentucky. “Mr. Bloomfield was employed as Deputy Jailer of Magoffin County, Kentucky. He was also involved and certified in Search and Recovery Diving, an EMT, Christian Appalachian Project, and Father Biding Appalachian Mission Center,” the obituary reads. “He was also a member of the St. Jude’s Catholic Church of Louisa, Kentucky, Honorary Member of Tip Top Baptist Church of Tip Top, Kentucky, and the Apperson Masonic Lodge #195 F&AM of Louisa, Kentucky.”
His widow was listed as Vicky Watkins Bloomfield. Watkins didn’t make the obit.
A story by WLKY-TV at the time stated that Bloomfield was shot to death and “deputies arrested 31-year-old Jonathan Watkins, who they said lived at Bloomfield’s home.” The motive wasn’t clear. The Salyersville Independent reported that Bloomfield was shot five times in the back.
Family members were present and told authorities “Watkins came into the home and started shooting Bloomfield.”
3. The Murder Charge Was Dismissed After a Psychiatric Report
Despite the disturbing nature of the homicide, and the loss of Bloomfield, the criminal charges against Watkins didn’t stick.
According to WSAZ-TV, Judge Kimberley Childers dismissed the charges against Watkins after a report from the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center said Watkins “was not criminally responsible at the time the crime was committed.”
WYMT-TV reported that the Commonwealth then declined to file a petition seeking Involuntary Hospitalization.
4. Watkins Was Later Accused of Threatening the Judge in the Earlier Case
Even though Judge Childers dismissed the earlier murder charge against Watkins, she draw his ire, authorities said.
In 2015, according to WSAZ-TV, Watkins was accused of threatening to or engaging in conduct “intended to cause bodily harm” to Judge Childers.
“He was indicted on a charge of retaliating against a participant in the legal process in 2016,” the station reports, but a different judge also dismissed that charge saying he wasn’t criminally responsible – again.
Watkins, 38, is now being held in the Floyd County Jail, according to online court records for the dog skinning allegations.
5. People Filled Social Media With Comments of Disgust About the Dog Skinning Accusations
The dog skinning story disgusted people on social media. “This breaks my heart! Those poor dogs! Gut wrenching for the owners to know what happened to their dogs ?” wrote one person on Facebook.
“He must have enrolled in Disney + and took 101 Dalmatians too literal. Sicko,” wrote another.
“I can’t. Nope, that’s the end of the internet for me today,” wrote one woman after learning of the story.
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