BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — Besides enticing a young girl to cut herself and film herself nude, a Blount County man also beheaded several live chickens last year and posted video of the killings online, federal court records show.
The allegations against Kyle W. Spitze, 24, are outlined in a federal indictment filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville in an investigation that's taking the FBI to the darker corners of the internet.
The records filed this week also allude to a second victim in the case against Spitze, while an affidavit filed in February identified a 12-year-old girl as a separate victim.
The defendant recently gained notoriety on social media for recording his own non-fatal shooting.
Spitze appeared Thursday morning in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill McCook and pleaded not guilty to three counts of production of child pornography, three counts of distribution of animal crushing videos, a count of enticement and a count of possession of and access with intent to view child pornography.
If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Spitze, who's being held as a federal detainee at the Laurel County, Kentucky Jail, was walked into the courtroom in handcuffs by a U.S. marshal. He wore a khaki inmate jumpsuit and it appeared his hair had been cut significantly from when he had his mugshot taken last month.
His attorney, Nakeisha Jackson with the Federal Defender Services of Tennessee, spoke with him before the hearing started.
Judge McCook addressed Spitze several times in court, asking him if he knew his rights, was aware of the allegations against him and about his education history.
Spitze said little during the hearing, but confirmed he knew his rights, what the allegations are and said he has a high school diploma and attended one year of college.
Judge McCook asked Spitze if he was able to communicate with Jackson ahead of the hearing.
"It (the communication) got cut off, but, yeah," Spitze said.
Federal prosecutor Jennifer Kolman also addressed the court during the hearing.
She said that Spitze was a "very, extremely dangerous person for society."
Judge McCook said that Spitze will be detained pending further proceedings, and has a right to a future detention hearing.
McCook set a trial date for May 28, and said the last day Spitze could agree to a plea deal is April 26. Because it's a first setting, it's highly doubtful the trial will actually go in May.
Both Jackson and Kolman declined to comment on the case.
Court documents: Chickens were alive when Spitze beheaded them, spelled words with entrails
Previous court records in the case indicate that authorities had identified one alleged Spitze victim. That victim was a 12-year-old girl, who the FBI said Spitze encouraged to take self-harm videos and nude content to post on social media.
Those documents hinted at other victims in the case, and one of the charges in this week's indictment confirms authorities believe Spitze has at least one other victim.
According to the indictment, Spitze is accused of three counts of production of child pornography, three counts of distribution of animal crushing videos, one count of enticement and one count of possession and access with intent to view child pornography.
The indictment said that one of the production of child pornography counts relates to "minor victim 2." With this victim, Spitze is accused of trying to get the minor to participate in making sexually explicit content, which he could then distribute.
The sentence for production of child pornography is 15 and 30 years.
Spitze is also facing three counts of distribution of animal crushing videos.
The first count is related to events that occurred on July 24, 2023, when Spitze allegedly recorded a 22-second video of the decapitation of a live, white chicken, then posted it online.
The second count of distribution of animal crushing videos is related to events that also occurred on July 24, 2023, where Spitze is accused of recording a 41-second video of the decapitation of a live, white chicken and a live, black chicken, and then posted it online.
The third count of distribution of animal crushing videos is related to events that occurred on July 25, 2024, where Spitze is accused of posting a photo online of a decapitated brown chicken, with its entrails spelling out "crim."
In previously filed court records, Spitze is accused of using the screenname "criminal" to communicate with underage girls on social media platforms Discord and Telegram.
Viral video, national media interview before federal arrest
In January, Spitze posted a video on social media he took of Jeffrey Scott West shooting him. It drew thousands of views on Twitter.
West, his mother's boyfriend, shot at Spitze as Spitze was walking toward him and filming the encounter last August during an argument in Friendsville.
Spitze was injured, but survived the shooting.
After Blount County deputies arrived at the home, West holed up and refused to cooperate. A SWAT team tried to negotiate with him; he turned the pistol on himself instead and died, according to authorities.
On January 18, Spitze spoke to the Law and Crime Network about the video.
"I've been talking to a lot of people about it, I've been trying to tell my story to multiple people but not anybody important...so that's why I'm doing this interview so I can get the truth out, my side of the story," Spitze said to Law and Crime Side Bar host Jesse Weber.
Spitze also said during the interview he wanted to speak out to explain why his mother, Melanie, had her pants down during parts of the video.
Melanie Spitze was dead 10 days after the interview.
Police said Spitze record video of Melanie's body and posted it online.
Knoxville Police records said Melanie Spitze was found dead at the OYO Hotel in Cedar Bluff. Her autopsy said the Medical Examiner's Office determined he death wasn't a homicide, and that she had fatal levels of drugs in her system.
The report also showed multiple syringes, pipes and cut straws were found in the room.
KPD spokesperson Scott Erland said KPD is aware of at least one video that Spitze took of his mother, after discovering she was dead, that he shared online.
Court documents: Spitze went by 'criminal' when talking to children online
Federal court documents show the FBI requested to search Spitze's cellphone in February.
After getting ahold of his phone, they said they found sexually explicit materials involving a minor who wasn't located in Tennessee.
The minor told investigators that Spitze "demanded" self-harm videos of her on several occasions and the affidavit states the pair exchanged "thousands" of messages between July and October of last year.
FBI warns about dark web, online groups targeting youth
The FBI declined to comment on Spitze's case, citing ongoing prosecution.
Last fall the FBI sent out a warning that said there are online groups "deliberately" targeting minors online and extorting them into recording or streaming self-harm, sexually explicit acts and suicide.
Authorities said those videos are then used to extort victims further and exert control over them.