Police probe grisly find at frat on Milledge

Police in Athens are investigating after a skinned canine carcass, several raccoon heads and other grisly animal remains were found on the front porch of a University of Georgia fraternity house Friday morning.

Officers were called to the Chi Psi house at 1120 South Milledge Avenue after a 63-year-old man discovered the gruesome sight, according to an Athens-Clarke County police incident report. The man told officers that the animal carcasses had been placed on the porch at some point during the night.

He said a student returned home about 1 a.m. and had "not noticed anything usual," the report said. The man said he found the carcasses and other animal remains sometime between 6 and 7 a.m.                  

The officer noted that the remains included a skinned canine, which was either a domestic dog or a coyote, along with three skinned raccoon heads, the report said. One of the raccoons had been shot between the eyes.

There were also two dead rats, several pairs of raccoon feet and a “variety of entrails” left on the porch, the report said. The officer also spotted multiple pairs of bloody latex gloves.

Athens-Clarke County animal control was called in to collect the carcasses and other materials. The man told police that the fraternity has no security cameras in that area of the house.

In September, a deer’s carcass was left on the house’s porch, the report said. That incident is suspected to be a prank by another fraternity.

Drew Marshall, president of the UGA chapter of Chi Psi, told AJC.com that the fraternity called police in September after discovering the deer’s body but an incident report was not created. Police spokesman Geof Gilland said the department is “investigating the circumstances of that call.”

Marshall said in an email that he wouldn’t comment further on the case, but he said, “I trust that Athens-Clarke County PD will do their best to figure out who is responsible for this.”

Jeremy Dorn, the national spokesman for Chi Psi, provided a statement that said, “We are aware of the animal cruelty incident that resulted in remains being left at the Chi Psi Lodge at the University of Georgia this weekend. We are working with the proper authorities to determine who was behind the attack, and why.”

Detectives said one of the possibilities is that this was a fraternity prank, according to Gilland, but “they’ll continue to investigate and determine the appropriate charges.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Sgt. Joe Geiger at Joe.Geiger@accgov.com or 762-400-7097.