Colbert man sentenced for killing, mutilating horse to spite ex-girlfriend

A Colbert man who killed and mutilated a horse to spite his ex-girlfriend was sentenced Monday to the 53 days he already served in jail.

A Spokane County judge also banned Clinton P. Burrill, 46, from owning horses and contacting his ex-girlfriend.

Burrill was sentenced after accepting a plea deal. He was arrested in May 2018 after authorities found a horse on his property in the 9500 block of East Wollard Road.

The horse was tied to a fence by one of its ankles, its tail had been chopped off and the ground near the animal was “torn up from an apparent struggle where it appeared the horse had exhaled a large amount of blood from its nose and mouth,” according to court records.

Earlier that day, the ex-girlfriend had reported finding a bag of items on her front porch, including a handkerchief tied around a lock of the horse’s tail hairs.

She told deputies she had ended the relationship and moved out of Burrill’s home months earlier. She said he had “serious mental health issues which caused him to be violent with her,” according to court records.