Teen Set Girlfriend's Rabbit On Fire Inside Her Home For Breaking Up

In a revenge attack for ending a relationship, a teen set his girlfriend’s pet rabbit on fire inside her family home.

The court Wednesday heard that Ethan Andrews went to his girlfriend's, 18-year-old Lauren Reynolds, home on July 16, 2018, when the family as well as her nine pets were sleeping. He then set the rabbit’s cage on fire despite knowing that the pet was very much inside it. This led to the evacuation of the home but by then the blaze had already gutted the living room. Police found a can of petrol and a lighter in Andrews’ car and took him into custody. During interrogation, he admitted to the crime.

Reynolds told the court that Andrews had become increasingly controlling before the incident.

“He was being really paranoid and trying to tell me who I could and couldn't speak to. After I dumped him, he sent some really nasty texts saying, 'It's only over when I say it's over' and 'I can't wait for you to die',” she said.

Recalling the incident, she said, "All I cared about were my animals that were stuck inside, it was horrible. I was wailing and crying uncontrollably and my dad went back into the fire, we were screaming at him not to as it was so dangerous but he came out about 30 seconds later - he'd managed to rescue my hedgehog Wrillo. It wasn't until my brother mentioned that he thought Ethan might be responsible that the penny dropped.”

“Ethan tried to claim in court that he didn't realize Spice (the rabbit) would be in his hutch, but, as my dad said, 'Where did he think Spice would be, on a night out?' Thankfully, the judge didn't believe a word of it,” she added.

Reynolds said she now suffers from bad anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"I have dreadful guilt about what happened even though I know logically it's not my fault. My rabbit Spice was my best friend and Ethan knew that. He targeted my innocent bunny just to get back at me,” she said.

Det Con Colin Workman, from Hertfordshire Constabulary's Domestic Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit, told the court that "It was an act of pure callousness to target a rabbit in order to achieve this goal. I hope this sentence today allows the family to start putting these terrible events behind them."

Andrews was found guilty of reckless arson and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and sentenced to 32 months in prison.