The social media application Snapchat allows a user to send a photo or short video to a number of people that erases itself in a short time.
The maximum time a photo can be viewed is 10 seconds.
Users can post "stories" to their Snapchat timelines, which last longer.
So what happens when users see a horrific sight for 10 seconds via the app?
That's the question that authorities in Wilcox County, Alabama, are trying to answer after the beheading of three puppies was shared on Snapchat. Investigators have said two teens used a machete to behead the dogs.
18-year-old Ashley Johnston and a 17-year-old were arrested and are now charged with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals and one count of cruelty to a dog or cat in the first degree.
Both are Class C Felonies each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Wilcox County Sheriff Ernest Evans told AL.com that someone in California actually saw the incident on their phone and then called Alabama authorities.
Evans said he has not seen the Snapchat images himself, but they are reaching out to Snapchat to see what recourse may be available to recover the images.
He said he does not know of any screenshots taken of the "snap."
Evans believe the case will go forward because people who saw the images can testify that the incident occurred.
Investigators have said that many students at Wilcox Academy saw the images.
"There are people who saw it," Evans said.
Police have not yet located the bodies of the puppies involved.
The investigation is ongoing, and if tried, Johnston may be tried as an adult.
(al.com - March 12, 2015)
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