Man ticked at ex-girlfriend accused of mailing live snake

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — A 37-year-old accused of sending his ex-girlfriend a live snake is facing felony stalking and domestic abuse charges.

But that's not all Eric Burrows, 37, of Elkhart Lake, Wis., is accused of orchestrating.

According to the criminal complaint:

• A threatening letter was sent Aug. 8 to the 38-year-old victim's employer that not only called her derogatory names and claimed she was promiscuous but also threatened to kill or otherwise harm her at work.

• Voicemails from a woman who threatened to rip the victim's hair out accused the 38-year-old of trying to steal her boyfriend. A Sheboygan police officer noted that the caller sounded as if she were reading from a script.

• Text messages from Burrows soon after their breakup included a nude photo of the victim that he threatened to share.

The manager of the apartment complex where the victim moved after the breakup also received a profane letter and suspicious phone calls from a man claiming to work for a delivery service. The caller sought confirmation of the victim’s address, which the manager refused to give.

Paste BN is not identifying the woman because she is appears to be a crime victim.

She showed a detective more than 50 emails that Burrows supposedly had sent her in the past two weeks. The victim’s ex-husband also received a threatening letter in the mail and had concerns about the safety of his family.

These events led up to a package left at the victim’s apartment complex with directions to deliver it to her.

When the Sheboygan Police Department took the package to be X-rayed, it revealed a live ball python, a non-venomous constrictor, and a note reading: “Surprise you lying (expletive). Enjoy, this who you are (sic). Now do u care.”

The apartment management office received calls from both a woman and a man seeking to confirm the package would be delivered. The victim and officers confirmed that the calls came from Burrows’ cellphone and B&B Metals in Newton, Wis., where Burrows is the vice president and co-owner.

After Burrows was taken into custody, officers say they found incriminating evidence in the Internet history of his browsers, such as searches for the mailing addresses of the victim’s apartment complex, her employer’s office and her ex-husband. Plus he had another letter on him that hadn't been sent.

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