David V. Lochner
PALMYRA, N.Y. (AP) -- Two unemployed, hungry men stole a calf from a neighbor's barn, shot it with an arrow and slit its throat before roasting its meat, police said.
David Lochner, 21, and Timothy Welch, 18, were camping outside Palmyra, 20 miles southeast of Rochester, several weeks ago when a dairy farmer reported his calf missing, said State Police Investigator John Stubbe.
Authorities found a bloody bow and remains near the barn and in a river.
The two men first said they had shot a deer. But Stubbe said authorities later determined that the two had walked from their campsite to Brandon Hoad's barn and broken in.
The dairy farmer said the two were staying with someone who worked for him but knew nothing about the disappearance of the nearly 2-month-old female calf, named Emmy.
Stubbe said the two "decided they wanted something to eat," led the calf out of the barn, shot it with arrows and cut its throat.
The two gutted the animal and sliced off steaks, leaving the carcass behind, the investigator said.
They were arrested and arraigned Wednesday on burglary charges. Police said more charges are pending, including cruelty to animals.
Lochner and Welch remain jailed on $25,000 bail each. County police didn't know whether they had attorneys.
"I've seen farm animals stolen, but I don't recall anything like this, where two kids were out camping and they thought they needed a meal," Stubbe said.
Hoad said the arrests provided an answer but not a resolution.
"Even though I've got a reason, to me, it still doesn't solve it -- just the heinousness of it," said Hoad, who grew up on the farm and keeps about 65 dairy cows. "Stuff with animals doesn't normally bother me ... but this does."
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