HARRIS TOWNSHIP -- Gary Niarhos' livelihood is his cow-calf operation. But things have changed on his normally quiet Wilson farm.
It happened between Sunday evening and early Monday morning.
The cattle were herded into a cattle chute and allegedly impaled with a steel bar. After that, the accused Escanaba 17-year-olds, Nicholas Michael Leisner and Peter John Sauve, picked up a shovel and a steel rod and beat them, according to the Menominee County Sheriff Department.
Two pregnant heifers had to be euthanized. As for the bull, his jaw is broken, and Gary doesn't know if he'll survive.
“For what they've done here,” said Niarhos, “I hope they get the maximum of everything. And I hope they do it, because they were both charged with three counts."
Three counts of torturing or killing an animal.
This community relies heavily on trust, but now the act has everyone feeling on edge.
“I don't know how this sounds, but I feel scared,” explains Tammy Niarhos. “I feel so uneasy inside."
“No one knows why Gary’s farm was targeted, but he thinks it's because one of the kids' parents has a camp right next to his place. It's a camp where there was underage drinking that night, according to Menominee County Sheriff, Kenny Marks.
“We have a no-tolerance policy on this type of behavior,” said Marks. “And that's the way it needs to be."
As investigators uncover more answers, one thing Gary still wants to know is where were the parents that night?
If convicted of the felony, the teenagers could face imprisonment of up to four years.
It'll offer some satisfaction to Gary and his family. But it'll never replace the lost sense of security.
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