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Florida man who beat, stabbed dog has been sentenced to 10 years

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A Florida man who police say beat a pit bull puppy, and stabbed it 50 times before stuffing it into a suitcase while the dog was clinging to life will serve 10 years in prison after admitting to the crime.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports Brendan Evans, 35, of Hollywood agreed to plead guilty four years after the attack on Ollie the pit bull, according to his lawyer, Michael Gottlieb. The dog died two days after being discovered.

The attack on the Ollie caused an international outcry. Evans first denied being involved, but investigators found cat paws and rats with severed heads in his freezer, blood stains in his bathroom and dried blood and animal fur in his oven, the newspaper reported.

Evans has been held in jail since his arrest four years ago. He was initially charged with 17 counts of animal cruelty but prosecutors dropped 15 in exchange for the guilty plea, Gottlieb said.