It has been a wonderful, happy, glorious July for former Teen Mom 2 couple Jenelle and David Eason! A week after a North Carolina judge threw out the CPS custody case and returned their children Ensley, Kaiser and Maryssa to The Land, the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office has just announced David will not be charged with animal cruelty in the murder disappearance of their French bulldog Nugget.
CCSO made the announcement earlier today with a lengthy statement (included below in its entirety) summarizing their investigation. Jenelle started everything with a call to authorities to report that there had been an incident and her dog was missing. She mentions hearing a gun shot, but she says she did not see David shoot the dog:
Eason advised that on April 29th, at approximately 6:30 pm, her dog bit her daughter, leaving a scratch on her face. Eason advised that her husband, David Eason, threw the dog outside. She then advised that after David realized that the dog scratched their child, he went outside and shot the dog. During this conversation, Jenelle stated that she did hear a gunshot but did not witness the incident.
Right after the story broke about Nugget’s death, Jenelle spoke with Us Weekly and confirmed that David shot and killed the dog. “David killed my dog Nugget because he snapped at my 2-year-old, Ensley,” Jenelle said. “He doesn’t put up with that and those are his beliefs.” Jenelle went on to describe the actual shooting: “He just took her and shot her in the woods … about two acres away from the house.”
After attempting to speak with Jenelle about the incident for nearly two weeks, investigators were finally able to track her down when she attended a meeting at the Columbus County Department of Social Services in regards to the custody issues with CPS. It was during this meeting that Jenelle recanted her previous statements and essentially ended the investigation.
An excerpt from the statement:
Jenelle was questioned concerning the incident she reported to Columbus County Sheriff’s Office. Jenelle’s accounts were inconsistent with her original account of the events that occurred on April 29th. Jenelle advised that she was inside with her children at the time of the alleged event. She advised that she never heard or saw anything to indicate that David shot her dog. Jenelle advised that she did not want the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office or the District Attorney’s Office to continue with the investigation. Jenelle advised that this was her decision that she made on her own free will. She advised that she was not coerced into making this decision. Jenelle advised that “she don’t know where the dog is”. She also advised that “I don’t know if she was shot or killed or not”. Jenelle stated that the reason she filed the animal cruelty report was for the publicity and because she did not know where her dog was. Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigators located no physical evidence to substantiate that the allegations against David Eason are factual. The evidence collected indicates that the allegations of animal cruelty were fabricated. Therefore, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office is closing this investigation. No charges will be filed in this case.
#TeenMom2 All the latest updates on David Eason shooting Jenelle's French bulldog Nugget after the dog snapped at Ensley, including Jenelle's 1st interview in which she describes what happens and reveals she and David are "not on talking terms" https://t.co/CEsaNFuOgv
— Starcasm (@starcasm) May 1, 2019
The day before police spoke with Jenelle, they executed an unannounced search warrant on The Land with only David Eason present.
The Columbus County Department of Social Services accompanied the Sheriff’s Office to serve four custody orders. At the initiation of the search, no one was home. Contact was made with David and he advised he would arrive shortly. Upon arrival, David willfully signed a consent to search form. Columbus County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search of the residence and property. No weapons were located inside of the residence or on the property. Investigators processed the residence and the property, locating no blood evidence or any other physical evidence to validate that an animal had been fatally injured on the property. Jenelle was not present during the search.
The whereabouts of Nugget — deceased or not — are still unknown.
Here is the full statement from the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, which also addresses how the reactions from people calling and emailing hindered the investigation, as well as the “white powder” that Jenelle and David received in the mail:
On May 1, 2019, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office and Columbus County Animal Control initiated a joint investigation into allegations of animal cruelty that reportedly occurred at a residence on Money Hole Road in Riegelwood. Jenelle Eason contacted Columbus County Sheriff’s Office by public service. Eason advised that on April 29th, at approximately 6:30 pm, her dog bit her daughter, leaving a scratch on her face. Eason advised that her husband, David Eason, threw the dog outside. She then advised that after David realized that the dog scratched their child, he went outside and shot the dog. During this conversation, Jenelle stated that she did hear a gunshot but did not witness the incident.
On May 1, 2019, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office visited David Eason at his residence on Money Hole Road. The responding deputy was following up on a previous welfare check request on a child at that residence. While at the residence, the deputy also communicated with Eason in reference to the animal cruelty allegations. The deputy witnessed a juvenile at the residence that appeared to be in good health. A Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigator attempted to make contact with Jenelle by visiting her at her residence. The investigator was unable to make contact with her in person. A message was left on her voicemail. David reached out to the investigator and advised that he and Jenelle were meeting with their attorney at the end of the week. The investigator attempted to contact Jenelle on the day they reportedly met with their attorney. However, again, she did not answer the phone.
During the evening hours of May 13th, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the Eason residence located on Money Hole Road. The Eason’s did not have prior notice of the search. The Columbus County Department of Social Services accompanied the Sheriff’s Office to serve four custody orders. At the initiation of the search, no one was home. Contact was made with David and he advised he would arrive shortly. Upon arrival, David willfully signed a consent to search form. Columbus County Sheriff’s Office conducted a search of the residence and property. No weapons were located inside of the residence or on the property. Investigators processed the residence and the property, locating no blood evidence or any other physical evidence to validate that an animal had been fatally injured on the property. Jenelle was not present during the search. On May 14th, Jenelle and David were at the Columbus County Department of Social Services in reference to their children. Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigators met with Jenelle in reference to the allegations she reported. David was not present during this meeting. Jenelle was questioned concerning the incident she reported to Columbus County Sheriff’s Office. Jenelle’s accounts were inconsistent with her original account of the events that occurred on April 29th. Jenelle advised that she was inside with her children at the time of the alleged event. She advised that she never heard or saw anything to indicate that David shot her dog. Jenelle advised that she did not want the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office or the District Attorney’s Office to continue with the investigation. Jenelle advised that this was her decision that she made on her own free will. She advised that she was not coerced into making this decision. Jenelle advised that “she don’t know where the dog is”. She also advised that “I don’t know if she was shot or killed or not”. Jenelle stated that the reason she filed the animal cruelty report was for the publicity and because she did not know where her dog was. Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigators located no physical evidence to substantiate that the allegations against David Eason are factual. The evidence collected indicates that the allegations of animal cruelty were fabricated. Therefore, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office is closing this investigation. No charges will be filed in this case.
Columbus County Sheriff’s Office has dedicated many hours investigating the reported allegations. Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, along with Columbus Central, the District Attorney’s Office, Columbus County Department of Social Services and Columbus County Animal Control were inundated with phone calls and emails concerning this investigation due to social media posts advising the public to contact the above agencies. The quantity of calls and emails that the Sheriff’s Office and the above agencies received were so abundant that individuals had to be removed from their normal duties to answer thousands of redundant calls. This slowed the progress of the investigation, and delayed normal daily operations. Social media can be a great tool when utilized for positive interactions. In this case, social media posts were utilized to incite follower’s emotions to gain publicity. Sheriff Greene and Columbus County Sheriff’s Office were quoted in numerous social media posts. However, the “quoted” statements were never made by Sheriff Greene or Columbus County Sheriff’s Office. We must remember that reality television and tabloid journalism are for entertainment purposes only.
In a separate incident, on May 15, 2019, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the Eason residence. The Eason’s received an envelope in the mail, hand addressed from the Brunswick County Clerk. When David Eason began opening the envelope, a white powder substance fell out of the envelope. The substance was tested and did not test positive for narcotics or other harmful substances. This investigation has been closed. All leads in this case have been exhausted.
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
