Nevada mom, Maria Furtado, orders son, 15, to help kill neighbor's dog in front of child, 3, police say

NEVADA -- A Nevada woman is accused of having her 15-year-old son help shoot a neighbor’s six-month old pit bull to death in the desert as revenge for the dog killing two ducklings.

Police allege that Maria Furtado went into her neighbor’s yard, took the puppy and drove into the desert with her 15-year-old son and a 3-year-old child.

 

 

Once there, she allegedly shot the dog repeatedly with a handgun.

Police said she shot the dog several times with a pistol before handing the gun to the teenager, forcing him to shoot the animal several times more.

Maria Furtado was arrested on charges of animal cruelty, two counts of neglect/abuse of a child and theft.

After allegedly stealing the dog, Furtado drove to the
desert off Front Sight Road in Pahrump

During an investigation, deputies learned that a neighbor owned a puppy that had killed two of Furtado’s ducklings a few days before, according to the sheriff’s office.

The puppy’s owners claim Duke may have been alive when Furtado and her children left it.

Furtado was arrested and booked at the Nye County Detention Center, the sheriff’s office said.

(Dispatch Times - Aug 14, 2015)