Fawns found dead in Livonia, but who or what is responsible? - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Two fawns, a boy and a girl, were growing up in a backyard in Livonia.  The mother gave birth at the beginning of the summer, and the neighbors near Five Mile and Hubbard have been enjoying them, watching them grazing in the garden and playing in the grass until a disturbing find Tuesday morning.

"Originally we thought just one deer had died, and then we went out to look at it and there was another deer that was cut in half," said Randy Keeth.

He and his wife, Loreen, own the home whose yard the deer had adopted as their own.

"I know they're not mine, and I knew that they were going to be gone fairly soon, just not the way they were," Loreen Keeth said.

Loreen first found one of the fawns dead Tuesday morning.  Then she started looking for the other one.

"Then I went outside and looked for the second one and I found the front half only and the back half was gone, and I called the police and I called the DNR to report poaching."

"In our yard at night while we were sleeping.  I can't believe it," Randy Keeth said.

"It's such a shock.  I can't believe that anyone could be so monstrous.  They were so adorable, still babies, hoping around like little puppy dogs, the two of them running around in the backyard together," said neighbor Pat Snider.

But Livonia police say an animal could have killed the fawns.  There's no evidence to suggest otherwise, but the Keeths and their neighbors aren't buying it and believe a person was responsible for this attack on two defenseless animals.

The homeowners are so upset they are offering a reward, their own money, just to find out who is responsible.

"I'm offering a $500 reward.  We've reported it to the DNR, so there's criminal trespass, poaching, cruelty to animals," said Randy Keeth.

They're asking anyone with information to contact the DNR or Livonia police.