I'm a horseperson, and I just read this story...it literally sickens me.
8 horses killed in McConnelsville barn fire
McCONNELSVILLE -- Brent Whitehouse was in shock and dismay after his barn burned to the ground late Sunday night, killing all eight of his horses.
Police knew by the derogatory sayings painted on the burned barn that it was a hate crime. From the looks of the picture in the article link, it was "Burn In Hell "F word" (i.e., slur for gay men).
Another report indicates:
Homophobic slurs like "Fags are freaks" and "Burn in hell" were discovered spray-painted on the smoldering wreckage of his barn. Authorities have launched a hate crime investigation as Whitehouse is gay.
One of the eight horses killed was a pregnant mare, due to foal any day.
One of the eight horses killed was a ONE WEEK OLD FOAL.
Mr. Whitehouse was a horse owner, trainer, breeder, and owner of an insurance company.
I know that hate crimes of any kind are disgusting and I condemn them, but as a horse person and someone who has ridden horses all my life, there is a special place to rot in hell for people who would do something so hateful and heinous to animals.
The fire was apparently so hot that a TRACTOR inside the barn melted.
The value of the horses was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. These were AQHA (American Quarter Horses). Mr. Whitehouse did have insurance on the barn, but not on the horses.
As the owner, Mr. Whitehouse, stated
"Whoever did this had to walk right by all those horses, including the baby, and didn't care that they were killing a gentle, loving animal."
A reward of $5000.00 is being offered for any information that help police solve this crime, as it is thusfar unsolved and they have no suspects at this point.
Reward offered for information regarding barn file that killed horses
There are additional images of the burned barn from this TV Station's website/report:
Barn File Slideshow images