This is not the sort of story you expect to come out of Tennessee, but here we are.

WFXR, a local Fox affiliate in Tennessee, is reporting that a man in Tennessee strangled his neighbors kangaroo to death after it attacked his wife.

Around 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 22, authorities responded to the area for reports of two people "who had been in a battle with a male kangaroo," according to Sumner County Sheriff Tim Bailey.

Neighbors reportedly spotted the kangaroo outside of his normal area, although still within his owners' property. At that time, the neighbors called the owners to see if there was any way to get the animal back to his usual confinement.

The owners, Hope and Chris Lea, were not home, but told the neighbors where they could find the kangaroo's feed to lure him back into his area. They also said they would be home within an hour to take care of the situation.

The neighbors went onto the fenced-in property, where the female neighbor was assaulted by the kangaroo. The husband then stepped in, strangling the kangaroo.

This story is absolutely brutal.

The kangaroo was out of its normal enclosure, but it hadn't left the owners' property.

The neighbors then went onto the property and, allegedly, the wife was attacked by the Kangaroo.

Maybe, just maybe, they were trying to be good neighbors, but for goodness sake, as long as the 'roo is fenced in, let him be! You're just asking for trouble!

And that's what they found.

Don't get me wrong, if a kangaroo was attacking one of my loved ones I would knock it out so fast your head would spin. But why would you put yourself in that situation??

"Neither of the neighbors was seriously hurt, but the kangaroo died.

The owners of the kangaroo say they are heartbroken over the death of their beloved "Carter."

According to the Leas, they returned home to find Carter dead, with their younger kangaroos around his lifeless body.

"I was screaming because all of the babies were standing around his dead body and I was just so upset," said Hope.

While the kangaroo was outside of his normal area, the Leas say their property is entirely fenced-in.

"He didn't have nowhere to go," Hope said. "He was choked to death in his own space."

Now, the Leas say they are looking for some kind of restitution over Carter's death.

"We've had Carter since he was a little nugget," Hope said. "It's like losing a family member."

This is sad, of course. And completely avoidable.

Why in the world do the Lea's even have a Kangaroo in Tennessee to begin with? These exotic pet stories rarely have a happy ending.