ROUND ROCK, TEXAS — A Round Rock man is accused of stabbing his mother's dog last year before beheading the animal, according to an arrest affidavit released on Monday.

The Austin American-Statesman reported Sebastian Deen Abdullah, 18, has been charged with animal cruelty, a third-degree felony punishable by a decade in prison. According to the affidavit referenced by the newspaper, the Australian shepherd mix named Stella was 16 months old. The man's mother called police to report him having left her Round Rock apartment on Warner Ranch Drive with the animal. She told police Abdullah returned to her home with dried blood on him, telling his mother the dog had run away, according to the report.

The woman called police again after learning the dead dog might be in a field near the apartment complex, according to the affidavit. An animal control officer later found the animal's headless body in a bag under water near the Immortal Ten bridge in Round Rock on Nov. 21, according to the report. A knife believed to have been used in the attack and a harness was found nearby. Abdullah is said to have confessed to police, saying he tied the dog to a tree before stabbing it multiple times with a kitchen knife, the Statesman reported. According to the affidavit, Abdullah put tape over the animal's mouth when he first started stabbing it after it started yelping with pain before cutting off its head. According to the affidavit, Abudullah also told police he gutted the animal to examine its intestines.

It's unclear in the report what the motive might have been in killing the animal. The report references a witness who told police Abdullah had mentioned the dog might have been suffering while alive, suggesting he killed it to take it out of its misery. >>> Read the full story at Austin American-Statesman