Tyler Underwood was charged with Aggravated Animal Cruelty, a Class E felony, in the intentional killing of five of six puppies that were less than four months old when Underwood allegedly placed them in a plastic tote and threw them off of a bridge in the Burrville community where they landed on the frozen creek below the bridge. One of the puppies survived.

  The animals were discovered by a passerby and reported to the authorities. When interviewed, Underwood claimed that he had tried to give away the unwanted litter of seven puppies, going so far as to place a photo with a post on Facebook. He was able to give away one of the litter, but when he was unsuccessful in giving away more, he proceeded to dispose of the remaining six in the manner described above.

  Upon being notified of the discovery, investigators were able to then track the puppies back to Underwood using the same Facebook post along with an anonymous tip.

  The Morgan County Grand Jury, upon hearing the presentation from law enforcement, voted not to return a ‘True Bill’ on the indictment prepared by the District Attorney that would have charged Underwood with the felony aggravated animal cruelty. In Tennessee, it takes at least twelve of thirteen grand jurors to return an indictment. By law, the deliberations of the grand jury and their vote is secret. However, the law is that if even two of the thirteen votes do not return a True Bill indictment, this results in a ‘No Bill’ of the indictment, meaning that no criminal charges will be forthcoming.