A drunk man who beat a monkey to death at an Idaho zoo faces up to seven years in prison after confessing to his horrific crime.
Michael Watkins, 22, pleaded guilty to using a tree branch to batter the poor Patas monkey unconscious after he broke in and tried to steal it from Zoo Boise, the Idaho Press-Tribune reported.
A court heard how, on Nov. 17, 2012, he was visiting the area with friends from his home in Weiser – a town around 60 miles away near the Oregon-Idaho border.
After a heavy night of drinking, he picked a lock to enter the primate enclosure — stealing the monkey and hiding it in his jacket.
Watkins initially claimed the animal attacked him after he “tried to set it free,” and that his actions were simply in self defense.
But he eventually pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and attempted grand theft, after a plea deal with Ada County prosecutors dropped felony charges of grand theft and burglary.
Cops found a hat in the monkey’s enclosure similar to one he was wearing on the night of the break-in — and he was found in the hospital with injuries to his upper torso.
He will be sentenced May 16 by Fourth District Judge Lynn Norton.
The monkey’s death sparked concern among zoo officials about the welfare of the one surviving monkey, which led to the Rosamund Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, N.Y., donating two companions in December.
