"I still can't believe it," Tabitha Taylor said after her boyfriend Gregory Fargnoli was arraigned on animal cruelty, firearms and assault charges.
"I took pictures of her and her teeth and the wall and the blood and I just keep looking at them to try to get it to sink in," Taylor said.
Fargnoli, 26, allegedly beat Taylor's Catahoula Leopard Dog breed dog named Pokadot because he wanted to sleep, according to authorities. He allegedly stabbed, struck and beat the dog, according to a roommate living inside the 16 Hill St. home in Auburn.
Auburn Police were called to the Hill Street home around 7:22 p.m. Tuesday after Taylor came home to find the dog dead and Fargnoli fast asleep, according to police statements on file in court.
Taylor, 32, came home that day and said she found it odd that her dog did not come to the door and greet her, Assistant District Attorney Marc Dupuis said in Worcester Central District Court.
"Ms. Taylor then felt the dog. It was then that she realized that the dog was cold, stiff and not breathing," Dupuis said. "She also noticed that the dog's teeth were cracked."
Taylor and a male roommate noticed damage in the home and that Fargnoli had cleaned the kitchen and taken out the trash, something he normally didn't do, Dupuis said.
Pokadot had broken ribs, broken teeth, damage around his mouth and blood coming from her ears, authorities said.
Fargnoli allegedly told investigators that he "silenced" the dog, the prosecutor said.
"It just don't understand how he could do this," Taylor said. "I trusted him to take care of the dog, I just don't understand."
Fargnoli had a history of not liking the dog and was the only person home during the day, police said. He allegedly acknowledged "dealing with the dog mid-morning," according to reports.
Dupuis said Fargnoli had injuries to his hands and wrist. Hair from the female dog was found on the blood on his hands, the prosecutor said.
Defense attorney Walter Rojcewicz Jr. said he did not see any injuries to his client's hands. Fargnoli was "distraught and remorseful" before his arraignment, the lawyer said.
During their investigation into the dog's death, Fargnoli's girlfriend told police he choked her two weeks prior, court records said. The couple had been drinking and she was text-messaging a male friend, according to reports.
Fargnoli allegedly grabbed the phone and put his girlfriend in a chokehold as they argued, police said.
"Just go to sleep," police said Fargnoli whispered in his Taylor's ear.
Police were told Fargnoli had a gun and a search warrant was executed. Investigators seized a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and ammunition.
Mr. Fargnoli was charged with animal cruelty, strangulation, assault and battery, intimidating a witness, possession of a firearm and ammunition without a firearm identification card, possession of a large-capacity firearm, receiving a firearm with a defaced serial number and improper storage of a firearm.
Mr. Fargnoli was placed in the custody of his parents in Barre and ordered to wear an electronic monitoring system. He is allowed to leave the home only for work. He was also ordered not to possess any weapons or firearms, stay away from Ms. Taylor's home and abide by a one-year restraining order she was granted. He is due back in court Dec. 22 for a pretrial hearing.
Ms. Taylor, who is from Louisiana, said she met Mr. Fargnoli online in March. They visited each other twice and at the end of August, she moved with her two dogs to live with him in Massachusetts.
Reached by phone Tuesday, Ms. Taylor said she became sick to her stomach when she learned that her former boyfriend may have sexually assaulted her dog.
"It's disgusting. It's worse than I could have possibly imagined," she said.
(MassLive - Nov 18, 2015)
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