Palm Beach County Arrest & Investigation Update: Lake Worth man arrested after dead dog found surrounded by blood, feces in motel bathroom

What happened: A dead dog found in a Motel 6 bathroom surrounded by blood and feces led to the arrest of a Lake Worth Beach man Wednesday.

Background: officers responded July 7 to the Motel 6 at 3651 W. after housekeeping staff discovered a dead dog in one of the motel bathrooms.

When officers arrived, they found the dog with a large amount of blood around its body. The arrest report says feces were also found throughout the bathroom, along with what the report described as "a food wall near the wall of the bathroom." The hotel owner told investigators that the suspect, Xavier Fitzpatrick, had been seen walking the dog on a leash around the property and had previously been arrested near Room 107 in an unrelated case, according to the report.

Investigators said they spoke with Fitzpatrick's girlfriend, who told them the dog belonged to his wife. She said Fitzpatrick's wife had left the dog, a red-nose pit bull named Blaze, with him after leaving the hotel.

Fitzpatrick repeatedly told his wife to pick up the dog and warned her, "Your dog is gonna die, you need to take it to the vet." The girlfriend told investigators she last saw Blaze about a week and a half before the dog died. She told investigators that Fitzpatrick, 31, initially said the dog was fine with him and later said he would be responsible for Blaze.

An Animal Care and Control review found Blaze was in very poor condition and severely decomposed, with no food in his stomach or bowel and little to no body fat.

The available details are limited to the information verified at publication time. Readers should expect updates as the matter develops.

Any person identified in connection with an alleged offense is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.

Source: official sources including CBS12 News.