WISCONSIN -- A Wisconsin beautician who is accused of strangling her ex-boyfriend's dog with its choke collar after breaking into his home following an argument has had her charges upgraded to a felony.
Selina Boulton, 32, was arrested in December 2013 after the November 14 incident, but on Friday prosecutors elevated charges to mistreatment of animals, a felony, and disorderly conduct.
Boulton's preliminary hearing will be August 15 in La Crosse County Circuit Court.
The scorned lover was charged in December with two misdemeanors.
Prosecutors argued she killed the 13-year-old Basset Hound, Jixer, after breaking into her ex's house in the 700 block of North Losey Boulevard.
Police found the dog dead on the floor with its choke collar cinched tightly to its neck and a frying pan nearby, according to Twincities.com.
An autopsy found the pet died of asphyxiation/respiratory failure as a result of severe trauma. Jixer also suffered fractured ribs, a collapsed lung and a cut consistent with a stab wound, according to court records.
Boulton reportedly told investigators Jixer bit her when she entered the house and she denied breaking and entering.
She had a blood alcohol level of 0.10 per cent after the incident.
The beautician broke into the unidentified man's house following an argument and tortured his 13-year-old basset hound until it died, prosecutors said in December.
On November 14, her ex-boyfriend came home to Boulton crying in his bedroom beside the dead body of his beloved dog, Jixer, who had apparently been strangled by his own collar.
The animal was also beside a frying pan and after further investigation, authorities learned he also had fractured ribs, a collapsed lung and a cut that appeared to be a stab wound.
A necropsy found Jixer had died of asphyxiation/respiratory failure after severe thoracic trauma - that is, trauma to the chest.
Boulton told investigators that the aged dog had bit her when she entered the house - but denied breaking in.
She added that the dog was four years past its life expectancy and complained that 'an animal has more rights than I do'.
The alleged attack came after Boulton had gone out with her ex-boyfriend but the former couple began arguing when he refused to allow her into his house, the La Crosse Tribune reported.
Police said that she then broke into his house through the kitchen window. She had a 0.10 per cent alcohol blood level when police arrived.
After initially speaking with authorities, the ex-boyfriend wrote a letter asking prosecutors to drop all charges against Boulton.
He said he believed the dog died of a heart attack when it saw Boulton climb through a window.
'She didn't kill my dog,' he wrote.
Boulton, who trained as an esthetician according to public records, has been banned from having contact with any animals as a condition of her $1,000 bond.
(Daily Mail - August 10, 2014)
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