logo
Man died of ‘blunt force injuries' at US zoo after suspected kangaroo fight

Man died of ‘blunt force injuries' at US zoo after suspected kangaroo fight

The Guardian12-05-2025

Officials in South Carolina are investigating the death of a man who was believed to have been killed while fighting a kangaroo in an enclosure at a children's petting zoo.
Eric Slate, 52, died of 'multiple blunt [force] injuries', according to Tamara Willard, the chief deputy coroner of Horry county, as reported by WPDE News.
Local officials said Slate, brother of 5 Star Farm's owner, Robert Slate, liked to enter the enclosure containing kangaroos and wallabies and 'roughhouse' with a kangaroo named Jack.
Mark Causey, a Horry council member, told Newsweek that the animal was not euthanized, and that inspectors would visit the farm this week to look at the enclosure and assess conditions at the zoo.
A tribute posted to Facebook on Monday by Robert Slate featured a series of photographs of a man identified as Eric engaging with a kangaroo of almost the same height. 'Your memory will live on, your voice will be heard, and Jack (your buddy, the kangaroo) will be fine,' he wrote.
'My brother, my friend, my rock, you left us with a smile on your face that won't be forgotten.'
A statement from the Horry county police department, posted to Facebook, said Slate's death happened on Friday, close to midnight.
'The death investigation remains active and ongoing,' the statement said. 'The deceased was located within an enclosure with wallabies and kangaroos of varying ages.'
'There are a number of other animals at the incident location. All animals are accounted for and contained, and there is no risk to the community.'
A further statement from the farm's owners stated that the kangaroo 'was not nor has been out of his secure enclosure', and that the family-owned facility 'has been dedicated to providing a safe and enriching environment for animals and visitors alike'.
According to its website, the farm offers interactive animal experiences including a petting zoo, camel and pony rides, birthday parties and gem mining.
Fatal human-animal encounters are rare at petting zoos in the US, but they are not entirely unheard of. In 2022, a camel was euthanized after escaping its enclosure at Shirley Farms in Obion county, Tennessee, and fatally trampling two men.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Catholic school teacher breaks her silence after having sex with teen student
Catholic school teacher breaks her silence after having sex with teen student

Daily Mail​

time32 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Catholic school teacher breaks her silence after having sex with teen student

A Catholic school teacher who admitted to having sex with a teenage student said she was 'not asking for forgiveness' on Tuesday as she was sentenced for her crimes. Emily Nutley, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery for her affair with a 17-year-old pupil at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, which lasted from November to December 2023. The mother-of-three then returned to Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday, when she finally addressed the inappropriate relationship. 'There is no excuse for what I did,' Nutley admitted, according to WLWT. 'I crossed a line that should never have been crossed. 'I think every day about the impact of my actions,' she continued. 'I've lost my husband, my home, my friends. I've caused harm and embarrassment to my children.' She then told Judge Jennifer Branch that she is now 'engaging with professionals who will help me understand [my] choices' after previously claiming that her husband's 'neglect' drove her to pursue relations with the teen. 'I am not asking for forgiveness because I have not earned it,' the former teacher said. But Branch said she was hoping to hear more of an apology from Nutley, as she sentenced the one-time teacher to three years behind bars. 'I was looking for you to say that you acknowledge the harm that you caused this young man... You pretty much ruined the rest of his high school career,' the judge said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. 'I didn't see it. I didn't hear it.' Her comments came after the teen addressed the situation himself in a letter read in court by Assistant Prosecutor Elyse Deters. He said the entire situation 'altered my high school experience and my life.' 'When the abuse started, I didn't know I was being taken advantage of,' the teen claimed, noting that eventually Nutley 'would not leave me alone. 'She told me she would kill herself if I ended it. Even at sporting events, people yell her name at me,' the victim claimed. He also said that the abuse 'left me confused, lacking self worth and depressed. 'I can't get away from this. I have a hard time trusting people, especially authority figures.' In separate remarks, the victim's father said his dream of going to college on an athletic scholarship was destroyed by Nutley's abuse. The teenager first met Nutley in 2023 through a program she ran for academically struggling students at the Catholic high school. They began texting after school hours last autumn, and she sent him nude selfies and at least nine 'sexually explicit messages'. In one text message Nutley sent the boy the afternoon of November 30, 2023, she wrote: 'What would be wild is that when the whole school is at Mass, I give you the best f**k of your life in my office,' the Enquirer reports. Nutley and the boy wound up having sex several times from November through December 2023, at least once in her office at the all-boys school after hours. She also paid the teen an 'allowance' of $100 a month, would buy him food and at least once plied him with the answers to an exam. But by March of that year, the teenager wanted the relationship to end and asked to be released from the learning center's help. Soon after, the boy's grades plummeted and he was failing three classes. Meanwhile, prosecutors said, Nutley continued texting the student. Eventually, rumors also started to circulate at the $18,130-a-year school that Nutley was having sex with the student, and on October 8, 2024, the teen met with school administrators and reported at least four sexual encounters with the teacher. Nutley was fired as soon as the criminal investigation began, which led to her being indicted by a Hamilton County grand jury and arrested on October 28. St Xavier said at the time it 'believed this case to be an isolated incident.' A few weeks after the indictment, Nutley's husband, Jonathan Nutley, also filed for divorce, prompting his wife to accuse him of 'gross neglect of duty and extreme cruelty' in her legal response, TMZ reported. The disgraced educator has two daughters and a son, the eldest of whom is a junior at a different high school and only slightly younger than the victim. She previously taught at Madeira Elementary School, also in Cincinnati, and posted photos of her work and students there on social media. Nutley then joined the Jesuit school ahead of the 2021-22 year and was listed as the 'multi-tiered systems support coordinator' in the student handbook. In pre-sentencing documents, prosecutors argued Nutley 'preyed on the most defenseless person she could find' as her job at the school entailed identifying at-risk students and monitoring their progress. The prosecutors asked for at least a five-year prison sentence, while the victim's family asked Branch to sentence her to 10 years behind bars. But Nutley's defense argued she has already received threats from prison and has taken significant steps toward rehabilitation. Her lawyers also noted that she has already lost a lot, and said that a doctor who examined Nutley described her as a 'broken woman' plagued by mental health and substance abuse issues. Now, in addition to serving three years in prison, Nutley will serve a five year probation. She will also be required to register as a Tier III sex offender every 90 days for the rest of her life.

I go to Appleby Horse Fair every year and this is what it's really like and the truth behind claims of animal abuse and antisocial behaviour
I go to Appleby Horse Fair every year and this is what it's really like and the truth behind claims of animal abuse and antisocial behaviour

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

I go to Appleby Horse Fair every year and this is what it's really like and the truth behind claims of animal abuse and antisocial behaviour

A young woman who has been to Appleby Horse Fair every year of her life has hit back at claims of animal abuse and antisocial behaviour. Lara Houlden, 29, loves the gathering of gypsies and travellers so much that she travelled from Lincoln to Cumbria for the annual celebration. And she claims that reports of animal abuse at the festival have been 'blown out of proportion', with welfare issues happening 'wherever you go'. This year cops made a record-breaking number of arrests at the fair - including on where a man allegedly punched a horse. Some 123 people were detained by Cumbria Constabulary, 80 of whom were for drink or drug driving offences. Separately, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) made 372 interventions at this year's fair - down on 438 last year, but up on 288 in 2023. Ms Houlden, who works for a horse holiday business, said: 'With animal welfare issues, you get that wherever you go - even at a local horse show there's always going to be the odd one. 'But with the amount of people and the amount of horses, it's very very rare you will see a genuine welfare issue. 'Obviously horses are going to scrape their leg coming off the box, mine did it himself once, just came off the box and cut his leg. 'But it's very very rare there are actually welfare issues, it's massively twisted in the way it's represented. 'I think it's more to attract attention and draw people in, it's majorly, majorly blown out of proportion - it's very very rare you will see a serious welfare issue within the fair.' The RSPCA, which attends the event annually, says a 'minority' of people at the festival work horses too hard and commit acts of abuse. This year the RSPCA issued 18 warnings; removed, treated and returned 14 equines to their owners; has two ongoing investigations; and is caring for six horses who were abandoned or are subject to investigations; and removed one wild caught bird. In addition, two horses were put to sleep because they were ill, which the charity said was on veterinary advice and with the permission of their owner. On Saturday, police arrested a man after a report of a horse having been punched. Aidan Tomlinson, 22, of Pudsey, Leeds, was later charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and was bailed to attend Carlisle Magistrates' Court on July 14. Cumbria Police also arrested a woman in charge of a horse who had previously been disqualified from controlling animals. She was released under investigation whilst officers investigate. Officers said they had issued 370 traffic offence report tickets during the event in Appleby-in-Westmorland, while 120 vehicles were seized - including those suspected of being stolen, used in a crime, causing an obstruction or driving without insurance. The arrest total compares to 102 last year, and is the highest figure in records dating back more than 15 years - with the closest challenger year being 2009, with 106. Out of the 123 arrests this year, 80 were made during the fair itself while the other 43 were in the weeks leading up to it as part of the overall policing operation. But Ms Houlden - whose mother even went to Appleby while she was in her womb - delighted in the outfits and said she had even met a partner at the fair. She described Appleby as a 'big social event' where people can catch up with friends and enjoy time with horses - and said it cost her just £15 to attend. After getting home from the festival with her four-year-old horse Zorin, Ms Houlden continued: 'It's such a fantastic atmosphere, everybody's so kind and welcoming, the atmosphere's fabulous. 'Everybody's just happy and enjoying themselves, all the horses up and down. 'It's something you've got to see for yourself and experience for yourself at least once, it's something you can never get bored of.' Ms Houlden attends the fair with her mother Vanessa, 60, who has been going for over 50 years and has never missed a year. She said her mother, who has a visual impairment, feels 'safer walking around Appleby than she does walking through our local town'. Despite seeing plenty of glamorous outfits worn at the fair, practical Ms Houlden says she took a different approach. She said: 'Even with the horrendous weather we had on Saturday, there were some lovely outfits to be seen. 'I dressed for the weather, I don't deal with cold very well!' She added: 'I stayed in my car on Fair Hill, which, with the horse box, cost me £15. 'If you take your own food and drink, you wouldn't need to spend more unless you wanted to buy from the market.' Organisers said this year's event was 'one of the busiest in recent years', with a total of 1,307 caravans and bowtops in attendance - up on 1,287 last year but short of the record of 1,318 recorded in 2014. The 2025 figures saw a drop in the number of traditional bowtops to 95, down from 112 in 2024. There were 1,152 caravans, up from 1,078 in 2024, 46 tents and a further six vans, or wagons used as accommodation. Meanwhile there was drop in the number of stalls at the fair this year with overall numbers at 231, including 25 food stalls. This was down on the 268 recorded in 2024 and well below the 2016 record high of 276. Data on arrests each year was compiled by MailOnline from the annual 'Learning Lessons' report released by the Appleby Fair Multi-Agency Strategic Coordinating Group (MASCG), which was established in 2008. Comparative figures are therefore not believed to be available before 2009. RSPCA Chief Inspector Rob Melloy, who oversees the animal welfare operation, said: 'Our interactions with the Fairgoing community have been overwhelmingly positive and interventions, when they've been necessary, have been cordial. 'People may have seen something they're not happy with, if it has been reported to us it has been investigated by our staff. 'Whilst we did see tired horses, none of those who were exhaustion tested were so bad that they needed to be removed from their owners permanently. When they had rested, we were able to return them.' Steph Cordon, chair of the Appleby Fair MASCG, said: 'With poor weather forecast over the weekend of the Fair, which also coincided with the Epsom Derby, we did wonder if caravan and bowtop numbers might be lower this year. 'An initial reading of the count would suggest otherwise, but the recording of vehicles at the fair is now much more accurate using drone technology, so comparisons to previous years is not necessarily a helpful barometer. 'I'm pleased that this year's fair has passed without any major incidents and I'd like to thank everyone involved in the response to the Fair, for their hard work and dedication in making sure that this was the case.' It comes after a huge operation to clear fields of discarded rubbish began yesterday as thousands of travellers headed home – with sofas, wooden furniture, bedding, food and toilet waste strewn across the picturesque countryside. Appleby is billed as the biggest traditional traveller fair in Europe and takes place in the market town of Appleby-in-Westmorland every year. Around 10,000 people from the gypsy and traveller community were expected to attend this year's event, outnumbering the local population of just 3,048 people.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store