"Survivor" Winner Goes to the Dogs
Survivor contestants may have to spend weeks living in primitive conditions, but now one has been accused of turning into a real savage.
The winner of Survivor: Thailand was arrested early Tuesday on misdemeanor battery and animal cruelty charges after his wife called Atlanta police to report that her angry other half had shot a puppy with a bow and arrow. He was taken into custody and later released on a $6,000 bond.
Police said that Brian Heidik, 38, fired an arrow at a 12 to 16-week-old shepherd-hound mix named Edgar that had wandered into his yard, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday. The pooch, which was shot below its ribcage, survived the injury.
"You can equate it to seeing a kid going across your property and going and beating the heck out of him," Douglas County Chief Deputy Stan Copeland told the Journal-Constitution.
Heidik, who had compiled a short list of adult film credits under the name David Roth before hoisting the million-dollar Survivor prize, has since stated that he thought he had come across a fox or a coyote.
Heidik's wife, 34-year-old Charmaine Heidik, told police that her estranged husband (the two are currently separated but still living together) had been out with friends the night of the shooting and that she woke up at about 3:30 a.m. to the sound of a dog yelping. She then went to the back porch, saw Heidik shoot the bow and arrow at the pup and then heard the Survivor champ say, "I am tired of stupid dogs on my back porch."
According to Charmaine, she then locked herself, their five-year-old son and another dog that had been wandering outside into one of their bathrooms, where she proceeded to call the police.
That call may have been long overdue. In an interview with authorities on Wednesday, Charmaine said that Heidik had grabbed her by the face and pushed her a few weeks before the animal-related incident.
Charmaine told the Journal-Constitution that since Heidik's Survivor stint he has been "spiraling out of control."
"I don't think he's ever adapted to real life since then," she said. "He thinks he can do anything. He thinks he's invincible."
Unfortunately, you lose your immunity once you leave the island. While Heidik's season of the CBS show was airing, Charmaine was arrested for spousal abuse after allegedly smacking him in the nose. She agreed in December 2002 to enter counseling.
Heidik's more mainstream acting credits include spots on Baywatch Nights and Days of Our Lives. The former North Carolina State football player also spent time as a used-car salesman, utilizing that experience on Survivor to wheel and deal his way into the winner's circle.
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