TYLER HASTINGS BERRY accused of torturing and killing dogs and puppies in Austin hotel rooms

- Texas, USA -

~ Update: June 30, 2022

Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that on Monday, June 27, a Travis County Grand Jury returned a true bill of indictment against 27-years-old TYLER HASTINGS BERRY (pictured), for three counts of cruelty to a non-livestock animal, a 3rd-degree Felony.

According to a press release, BERRY’s case will be placed on the docket in the 299th Judicial District Court in front of Presiding Judge Karen Sage.

~ Original story:

The discovery of a dead Pitbull mix in a hotel room back in June 2021, has led to the arrest of 27-years-old TYLER HASTINGS BERRY (pictured below) on Monday, March 14, 2022.

Pflugerville police arrested BERRY on five different charges.

KVUE reports that according to an affidavit, the dog was found by the cleaning crew on June 28, 2021, the day after BERRY checked out of his room at the Doubletree Suites at 303 West 15th Street in Austin.

Officers with the Austin Police Department responded to the scene and in the bathroom, they discovered a lifeless white/brindle adult Pitbull mix weighing about 30 to 40 pounds. Police said the furbaby was “cold to the touch.”

Dog pee pads were also found and the bedsheets were covered in blood.

Additionally, officers found numerous hypodermic needles and drug paraphernalia in the room.

The cause of the dog’s death was not known immediately as he/she had no signs of trauma on his/her body and was in partial rigor with blood coming from the mouth.

The Pitbull was then taken to the Austin Animal Center for a necropsy and results showed that his/her death was “severe pulmonary disease consistent with acute respiratory distress syndrome” and also that “these findings are consistent with widespread airway injury at least 24-48 hours” before the dog died.

The poor soul went through an unknown type of severe trauma about 24 to 48 hours before he/she died and in that time frame, he/she would have experienced an “unimaginable amount of pain and suffering” while slowly dying.

A veterinarian’s guess as to how the dog died would be by being strangled and/or partially drowned.

Officers handling the case recognized BERRY’s name from another incident like this one that happened on June 5, 2021, at a central Austin hotel, where staffers found a “wet deceased puppy” in BERRY’s room after he checked out.

According to the affidavit, due to a “mix-up in the 311/911 system” no officers were dispatched. The puppy’s remains were ultimately thrown away by the hotel staff and BERRY was not charged since the evidence was lost.

A third incident took place in August 2021.

On August 2, 2021, a call to 911 reported that a dead puppy and hypodermic needles were found inside a room at the Hyatt House located in the 10000 block of North Capital of Texas Highway.

Officers with the Austin Police Department were dispatched to the scene and learned from the hotel manager that BERRY had checked into the room on July 30 and checked out August 2.

A few hours later, the cleaning crew discovered the puppy in the bathroom.

Officers “found the deceased puppy on the top of a full trashcan in the bathroom.”

Police said the furbaby was only 6 to 12 weeks old.

The furbaby was brought to Austin Animal Center for a necropsy.

Police returned to the hotel the following day after staff found “another deceased puppy in that same room.” The furbaby was also approximately 6 to 12 weeks old.

The reason why the second puppy was not found the day before with the other one, is because the room was not cleaned until the next day and when the cleaning crew went into the room, “Upon emptying out the same trashcan where the first puppy was found, a second deceased puppy was found buried down in the bottom of the trashcan. This dog was also a puppy and was brown with white spots”, stated the affidavit.

A necropsy was performed on both puppies and results showed that they both were severely emaciated and had not eaten in at least two to three days.

One of the puppies died of “overwhelming parasite infection and inanition (lack of nutrients).”

The other puppy likely had pneumonia and emphysema and showed signs that indicated “suffocation or drowning”, stated the affidavit.

Police arrested BERRY on August 8, 2021, at the Doubletree Suites where he had returned for another stay. Staff recognized him and called the police.

When he was arrested, his girlfriend, Elizabeth Masters, was with him and she told police that BERRY would get dogs off Facebook, “but then they would disappear.”

Police said that BERRY told his girlfriend he gave the dogs away or that they ran away.

When officers asked BERRY about the dogs, he said they all “must have died from Parvo.”

It’s unclear if BERRY was released from jail at any point after August 8.

When BERRY, of Buda, was arrested on Monday, he was charged with third-degree felony cruelty to animals. He is also facing an additional four misdemeanor charges, including two counts of cruelty to non-livestock animals.

Court records show BERRY is scheduled to appear for a bond review hearing on March 18, 2022.

After all these months and after the murders of all these precious and innocent souls, investigators finally pieced things together and BERRY is behind bars.

KXAN pulled BERRY’s past criminal records.

BERRY has several drug related charges dating back to 2017. Two filed in September and December 2021, by Hays County.

Jail records show BERRY was released from custody on the same day he was booked in both of those cases, so its unclear why Austin Police have just now arrested him.

KXAN contacted Austin PD to inquire about the investigation and timeline outside of what was in the arrest documents but police did not respond.

Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from official news outlets. Links included.

Details may be removed or additional information may be provided in future should such sources report an update.

Story on Voice For Us Facebook page

Sources:

KVUE

CBS Austin

Law & Crime

KXAN