Maui man gets five-day jail term for pet pig killing

A Maui man was sentenced to five days in jail and four years of probation Wednesday morning for the theft, torture and killing of a beloved pet pig named “Eddie.” Krys-Ryan Saito Carino, 21, was sentenced by Second Circuit Judge Kirstin Hamman after pleading no contest to cruelty to animals and theft of livestock, both felonies, along with a misdemeanor charge of criminal property damage.

The sentence was much less than the one-year jail term requested by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mica Metter. The victim, Sarah Haynes, who adopted Eddie from a local pig rescue, expressed frustration after the sentencing, saying the five-day jail term sends a “very dangerous message to our community.”

She said she wanted a “much stronger sentence and more time in jail.”

“I’m glad he left in handcuffs,” she said.

Carino’s co-defendant, Jayden Jarnesky Magana, was previously sentenced to a two-day jail term in the same case.

The sentencing followed an hourlong demonstration outside Hoapili Hale, the second-circuit courthouse in Wailuku. More than two dozen protesters waved hand-painted signs and chanted: “No excuse for animal abuse,” “Jail Krys Carino” and “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!”

Theft and killing of pet pig, “Eddie”

The incident occurred in May 2024, when Carino cut a fence at Haynes’ Kitty Charm Farm animal sanctuary in Haʻikū, entered Eddie’s pen, and stabbed and hog-tied the 250-pound pig. According to testimony from Haynes, he then dragged the still-living pig away toward his father’s neighboring property.

“It haunts me how Eddie must have helped after being trained to trust humans,” she said.

He later shot Eddie point blank in the head, staged a fake hunting video and submitted Eddie’s body into a hunting contest, winning first prize of $1,000. He then posted a rap video on social media showing the deceased animal, an act Haynes described as displaying a “chilling lack of remorse.”

Metter’s statement to the court delved into the scientific evidence of pig intelligence and sentience (the ability to feel, perceive or experience pain or joy), noting that “research tells us that pigs are highly intelligent, more so than even dogs.”

She explained that because pigs are highly self-aware and can experience emotions like grief, fear, and pain, Eddie would have known exactly what was happening to him and “suffered because of what this defendant did.”

After winning the pig hunting competition, Carino told Haynes that he had dumped Eddie’s body off a cliff, which deepened her anguish and prevented her from being able to give Eddie a proper burial. She said she fears for her own safety because she has been tenacious in seeking justice in such an egregious case of animal cruelty.

Haynes emphasized that Carino was not merely an accomplice but the “ringleader” of the “premeditated theft, prolonged torture, and murder of Eddie.” The crime’s premeditation was demonstrated by Carino’s preparation in bringing wire cutters to the pig enclosure, she said.

In a plea for a deferred sentence, Carino’s defense attorney, Danielle Sears, described him as an “emerging adult” who was not thinking clearly at the time. She argued that he was raised in a culture of hunting and fishing and did not understand the perspective of treating a pig as a pet. Sears maintained that Carino was remorseful and that the “media storm” has been “too much” for him.

“This was a pig hunting contest that numerous people were involved in,” Sears said. “What seemed to be a farm animal… at the most, this was livestock. It would have been killed anyway.”

In his own brief statement, Carino said simply, “I’m sorry. What I did that day. I’m sorry.”

Judge Hamman acknowledged the defendant’s youth and lack of prior criminal history, but she stressed that the five-day jail term was a necessary punishment to reflect the “seriousness of the crime” and deter others from committing a similar offense.

“Stealing a pig and brutally taking its life to the despair of its owner and to the community is not hunting,” Judge Hamman told Carino. “You stole and brutally killed a pet pig… and so there has to be punishment for that.”

Maui Humane Society’s reaction

The Maui Humane Society released a statement expressing deep disappointment with the outcome.

“We believe the sentence handed down fails to reflect the severity of the crime and the suffering Eddie endured,” the statement read. “When acts of animal cruelty are not met with appropriate consequences, it sends a dangerous message — that the abuse and killing of animals is not taken seriously.”

Carino’s deferred sentence means if he violates his probation, he could face prison time for the “Class C” felony convictions. (“Class C” felonies carry penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment and fines of up to $10,000.) The conditions of his probation include not owning or possessing firearms, not owning any animals, refraining from drugs and alcohol, and staying at least 100 yards away from the animal sanctuary.