Army veteran accused of laughing while shooting her service dog is found dead

North Carolina police say they’re investigating the possible suicide of an Army veteran charged with shooting her service dog as she laughed.

Fayetteville Police Lt. Todd Joyce said Sunday investigators believe that 23-year-old Marinna Rollins killed herself. Joyce declined to explain what evidence detectives found. He says police were called to her apartment early Sunday after her body was found by friends.

Rollins and Jarren Heng, 25, were charged last month with cruelty to animals after investigators say they tied the pit bull to a tree and shot it 10 times with a rifle, the Fayetteville Observer reported.

Cumberland County District Attorney Clark Reaves said the two could be heard laughing on a video recording they made as the dog was killed.

Both had upcoming court dates on the charges on May 16. The couple and family members had been threatened on social media, the Fayetteville Observer reported.

Heng and Rollins took turns filming each other as they killed the dog, the newspaper reported, citing detectives with the Cumberland County Sheriffs Office.

Rollins’ estranged husband adopted the dog, named Huey, from the Cumberland County Animal Shelter, the Fayetteville Observer reported. While her husband was in South Korea, Rollins changed the dog’s name to Camboui and got him registered as an emotional service animal.

Friends and family said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, the Fayetteville newspaper reported. Arrest documents said she was medically retired in January from the Army because of PTSD and other mental health issues.

Heng is an Army special operations soldier, the newspaper reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

This story was originally published May 8, 2017 at 6:59 AM with the headline "Army veteran accused of laughing while shooting her service dog is found dead."