This Little Piggy Didn't Go to Market: He Was Stolen for Cash

Eddie the pig wasn’t just any farm animal. At Kitty Charm Farm in Maui, Hawaii, he played the role of therapy pet, pool buddy, and sanctuary mascot. But on the night of May 11, 2024, two young men allegedly stole him, killed him, and passed him off as a wild pig to cheat their way to $1,000 in a local hunting contest.

A Pet Snatched for Prize Money

According to multiple news outlets including Hawaii News Now and KHON2, 18-year-old Jayden Jarnesky Magana and 20-year-old Krys-Ryan Saito Carino crept onto the Haiku farm and dragged Eddie from his pen. They filmed a fake “hunt,” then killed, gutted, and hung the 250-pound pig from a tree. The entire spectacle ended up edited into a homemade rap video - complete with dogs chasing Eddie - before the men submitted the kill to a feral pig hunting contest in Makawao and reportedly took home the $1,000 prize.

Eddie’s owner, Sarah Haynes, didn’t realize what happened until social media users flooded her inbox with horrifying images. One clip showed her pig hanging lifeless from a tree. Another showed dogs attacking him. In her words, as reported by Island News: “Children could hug him. We swam in his pool with him. He was my treasured pet, a therapy pet to many.”

A Community Rallies - and a Court Responds

Outrage followed swiftly. On the day of sentencing, about three dozen people filled the Wailuku courthouse, shouting “No excuse for animal abuse” and “Protect our pets,” according to Hawaii News Now.

Jarnesky Magana pleaded no contest to charges of animal cruelty, theft, and property damage. Though he faced up to 10 years behind bars, the judge sentenced him to just one night in jail and four years of probation. He didn’t speak, but his attorney, Wendy Hudson, read a written statement aloud in court: “I’ve made a mistake and it was not intentional. I’ve learned a lesson and I’m not a bad kid. I’ve always been a good kid and never gotten in any trouble,” as quoted by Hawaii News Now.

While some saw the punishment as light, the probation came with strict conditions: no hunting, no animal ownership, and ongoing supervision. Haynes told KHON2, “He can’t hunt, he can’t own animals. So there is a very strict probation, and I’m really happy with that.”

Fraud, Grief, and Fallout

Deputy Prosecutor Mica Metter didn’t mince words. “It was a fraud on the family who put together the hunting contest and tried to run an honest event,” Metter told Hawaii News Now. “And it was a fraud to the other hunters who entered the contest and tried to do it the right way.”

Co-defendant Krys-Ryan Saito Carino’s trial is scheduled separately, but the damage-emotional, ethical, and reputational-has already rippled outward.

More Than a Pig, More Than a Crime

Eddie’s death hit deeper than a typical animal cruelty case. He represented safety, comfort, and joy to dozens of families who visited the sanctuary. Haynes summed it up best when she told the court, “He is and was always our sanctuary mascot,” Hawaii News Now reports.

This case served as a wake-up call - not just about animal cruelty, but about what happens when greed tramples compassion. A pig died for prize money. A community mourned. And now, two young men must live with the weight of a crime that never should have happened.

References: Hawaii Men Sentenced for Abducting, Killing Beloved Pet Pig to Cheat in Hunting Contest | ‘No excuse’: Man sentenced for killing beloved pet pig during hunting contest | 2-day jail sentence given to Maui pet pig killer | Maui man charged with stealing, killing pet pig sentenced to probation | Maui man sentenced for killing beloved pet pig during hunting contest