Missouri: Joseph and Lindsay Brink charged after their Boxers mauled elderly man to death in 2015

MISSOURI -- A southwest Missouri couple has been arrested after their dogs were linked to the fatal 2015 mauling of an elderly bicyclist, following an investigation during which two of the dogs were given away to unsuspecting owners, according to investigation files.

Joe Brink and Lindsay Brink were indicted in October on one count each of second-degree involuntary manslaughter in the death of 85-year-old Werner Vogt.

Both suspects were booked into jail on Thursday and released on their own recognizance.

They didn't even have to post bond???

Vogt was mauled in November 2015 while riding his bicycle in an upscale subdivision near the couple's home in rural Rogersville, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Springfield.

Vogt, who also lived in the area, died three weeks after he was attacked. Investigators said DNA eventually matched one dog to saliva found on Vogt's clothing and couldn't rule out the couple's three other boxers.

The Brinks' attorney, Dee Wampler, said Thursday that his clients have cooperated with authorities and "deny any guilt or criminal negligence."

It's unclear why there was a months-long delay between the indictment and the couple being booked. The local prosecutor didn't return phone messages from The Associated Press on Friday.

My guess is that the prosecutor's office doesn't really want to prosecute.

The Brinks previously settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Vogt's son for $300,000.

The grand jury indictment alleges the Brinks were "aware of the aggressive disposition of the dogs and failed to maintain adequate control of the dogs by allowing them to run at large." No other details were provided in the document.

But files from the Christian County Sheriff's Office show that an investigator examined the Brinks' four large boxers shortly after the attack. The investigator found no blood on the animals.

 

 

In the spring, sheriff's Sgt. Michael Elliott returned to the Brinks' home to take DNA samples from their dogs, but Joseph Brink told Elliott he had gotten rid of two of his dogs — Chubbs and Otto — which were among the three dogs running lose at the time of the 2015 attack, according to the Springfield News-Leader newspaper .

"It seemed to me that Joseph believed his dogs were likely responsible, and told me he just couldn't allow himself to keep the dogs, especially since he has a little boy," Elliott wrote in the report.

Elliott took DNA swabs from the Brinks' two remaining boxers, and tracked down Chubs and Otto.

ADOPTED FROM SHELTER AND SOLD ON CRAIGSLIST

One of the dogs had been sent to an animal shelter in Bolivar, where a family adopted it.

A Springfield man acquired the other dog through a Craigslist ad.

The new owners told the News-Leader they were shocked to learn of the boxers' possible link to the fatal attack.

OWNER LIED TO THE SHELTER ABOUT THE DOG BEING INVOLVED IN THE FATAL ATTACK ON A HUMAN BEING

Jessie Shepardson, director of the Polk County Humane Society, said there were "no red flags" in the initial adoption paperwork for Otto.

The intake form indicated the dog hadn't bitten anyone within the past 10 days but noted the dog "doesn't do well with little kids."

 

 

She said there was no mention of the fatal attack in paperwork filed by the man who brought the dog in.

A forensic DNA analyst told the sheriff that DNA tests linked Otto's saliva to Vogt's clothing and couldn't rule out the other dogs.

ARREST INFORMATION: 

Full Name: Lindsay Renee Brink

Gender: Female

Race: White

Height: 5'06"

Weight: 145 lbs

Hair Color: BRO

Eye Color: BRO

Arrest Age: 34

Date: 01/18/2018

Time: 10:12 AM

Arresting Agency: CHRISTIAN COUNTY SHERIFF"S OFFICE

Location: Christian County, Missouri

Charge

#1 INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER 2ND DEGREE

STATUTE: 565.024-002Y199909

Full Name: Joseph Michael Jude Brink

Gender: Male

Race: White

Height: 5'09"

Weight: 195 lbs

Hair Color: BLO

Eye Color: BLU

Arrest Age: 37

Date: 01/18/2018

Time: 10:10 AM

Arresting Agency: CHRISTIAN COUNTY SHERIFF"S OFFICE

Location: Christian County, Missouri

Charge

#1 INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER 2ND DEGREE

STATUTE: 565.024-002Y199909

(U.S. News & World Report Jan 19, 2018)

Earlier:

• Colorado: Unsuspecting families end up with 2 dogs linked to fatal attack. Police have no plans on doing anything about it.

Colorado: Dog Seized For Being ‘Part Wolf’ Finally Allowed To Return Home

COLORADO -- A pet dog that made international headlines after being seized from his family and accused of being part wolf is finally being allowed to return home.

Animal control officials in Aurora, Colorado, picked up the dog, named Capone, in February after he hopped his backyard fence and a neighbor complained. Officials refused to return him to his family, saying Capone’s appearance and demeanor indicated he could be a dog-wolf hybrid, outlawed in Aurora.

Owner Tracey Abbato said the allegation was ridiculous. She said she adopted Capone 10 years ago from a county shelter, where she was told he was a German shepherd mix. But even so, animal control officers wouldn’t return him without a DNA test. This week, Capone’s owners received the good news that a DNA test determined he was just a regular dog.

“He doesn’t have an ounce of wolf in him,” Abbato told KDVR on Sunday after learning of the test results.

However, there were still a couple of other issues. For one thing, the neighbor who complained about Capone said he was “acting aggressively” toward her in her yard, Aurora Animal Services spokesman Michael Bryant told HuffPost. That allegation, combined with Capone’s escape, led to several charges against his owners.

On Wednesday, Capone’s owners reached an agreement with the city, Bryant said. The city dropped charges of keeping an aggressive animal and keeping an exotic/wild animal. Capone’s owners pleaded guilty to having a dog running at large, not having a dog license and not having up-to-date rabies vaccinations.

Capone was freed, and returned home Wednesday after receiving a license and a rabies shot. His owners are required to construct a six-foot fence around their yard, and to confine Capone inside — or keep him on a leash — until it’s completed.

“We believe this resolution strikes a balance between keeping the family and their longtime pet together, and addressing the safety of the community as a whole,” Animal Services manager Jenee Shipman said in a statement.

She added that the department has “appreciated the outpouring of concern for Capone.”

I think they may have dropped the "aggressive animal" charge - not because the dog wasn't perceived as being aggressive while it was running loose, but because of the whole case blowing up. They could have DNA tested the dog and released it back to the owner with judge's order to comply with the results (sending to a sanctuary/rescue if the results were positive for wolf mixture). My point is, don't discount a witness' claim just because they weren't bitten/mauled and because you read that they 'dropped' the aggressive dog charge, which would have let them keep the dog but with restrictions. 

This video shows how scary it can be to be attacked by a dog. I don't think the officer in the video was bitten, but having large dogs chasing you, jumping on you and trying to bite can be terrifying. 




(Huffington Post - March 23, 2017)

Earlier:

• Colorado: Aurora holds family’s dog while running DNA test to determine if it’s a wolf hybrid
• Colorado: DNA test shows Aurora dog not a wolf, despite animal control belief

Colorado: DNA test shows Aurora dog not a wolf, despite animal control belief

COLORADO -- Tracy Abbato says DNA results show her dog Capone is not part wolf as Aurora Animal Control suspected.

“The results came back NEGATIVE. Not an ounce of wolf,” Abbato told Denver7.

City of Aurora spokesman Michael Bryant said he couldn’t comment on the DNA test because Capone is mired in an ongoing legal case. Capone will remain at the Aurora Animal Shelter until a court can determine whether he goes home.

The dog’s owners were charged with keeping a wild, exotic or dangerous animal, which was related to suspicion the dog was a wolf hybrid.

While a DNA test might have proven that Capone is 100 percent dog, his owners still face charges of keeping an aggressive or dangerous animal, allowing him to roam at large, failure to obtain an animal license and failing to make sure the dog had a rabies vaccine.

Tito Serrano, who co-owns the dog with Abbato, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, Bryant said.

Bryant said the dog was picked up because it was running at large and acting aggressively. Animal Control ordered the DNA test after the department’s animal experts observed his physical characteristics and believed them to be consistent with those of a wolf hybrid.

If the tests had determined the dog was a wolf hybrid, it would not have been returned to the family because Aurora city ordinance prohibits exotic animals.

A disposition hearing scheduled for Aurora Municipal Court at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday could decide if the dog goes home or remains at the shelter pending a trial that would be set at a later date. The hearing will determine whether public safety can be assured if Capone is returned home, Bryant said.

If not, the court could order Capone surrendered to Animal Services. Bryant said it is too early to predict whether that would lead to the dog being euthanized.

(The Denver Post - March 20, 2017)

Earlier:

• Colorado: Aurora holds family’s dog while running DNA test to determine if it’s a wolf hybrid

Colorado: Aurora holds family’s dog while running DNA test to determine if it’s a wolf hybrid

COLORADO -- An Aurora family may lose their family pet of 10 years if DNA tests show the dog is a wolf hybrid.

Tracy Abbato said her dog, Capone, was picked up by animal control after he wandered into a neighbor’s yard. She doesn’t believe he’s a wolf and wants him back.

“Capone is a family member. We’ve had him for 10 years. He has grown up with my kids; it’s devastating,” said Abbato.

Animal Control in Aurora said the dog was picked up because it was running at large and acting aggressively. If tests determine the dog is a wolf hybrid, it cannot be returned to the family because Aurora city ordinance prohibits exotic animals.

“Aurora Animal Services ordered the DNA test after its experts observed the animal’s behavior, mannerisms and physical characteristics and believed them to be consistent with those of a wolf hybrid. If the animal is confirmed to be a wolf hybrid and a judge grants ownership to Aurora Animal Services, the primary goal would be to locate a sanctuary that specializes in such animals and can provide the animal with a new home.” animal services said in a statement.

“Aurora Animal Services is committed to balancing the needs of people and animals in the city of Aurora by providing humane shelter, treatment and placement of animals, and part of that mission involves enforcing the city’s animal laws. We hope there will be an amicable resolution to this case, and the shelter is committed to providing quality care to all animals it serves.”

(The Denver Post - March 15, 2017)

Cat Hair Helps to Convict Man of Murder

MISSOURI -- For the first time ever, mitochondrial DNA from shed cat hair was accepted as evidence in a U.S. legal proceeding and helped to convict a suspect of murder.

The case, which will be outlined in the November issue of the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics, could set a precedent, such that pet hair may be more commonly introduced as evidence in U.S. trials.

"Dog hair has been used in both state and federal courts," co-author Beth Wictum told Discovery News. "Cases range from animal theft to animal cruelty, murder, sexual assault, bestiality, and pretty much anything you can think of."

Henry Lee Polk, convicted of murder

Wictum, who is associate director of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory Forensics Unit at the University of California at Davis, and her colleagues analyzed the single light orange-colored cat hair that was found in one of the victim's jean pockets. The individual, from Clay County, Missouri, was found severely beaten with his throat violently lacerated to near decapitation.

Both the victim and the primary suspect lived with cats, so the cat hair by itself did not mean much, given how frequently felines shed. As any cat owner knows, strands of cat fur seem to wind up everywhere. Prior studies have demonstrated how shed cat hair can cling to everything from curtains to clothing.

The researchers therefore obtained and sequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from the single hair. This is a type of DNA that passes down from mothers to their offspring. Another type of DNA, nuclear, provides more information because it encodes for the majority of the individual's genome.

"Shed hair usually doesn't have nuclear DNA because it is in the hair follicle, so we test the mtDNA in the hair shaft," Wictum explained. "However, because cats and dogs groom themselves, we sometimes get nuclear DNA profiles from shed pet hair."

For this case, only the mtDNA was available, but the researchers were able to compare and contrast it with mtDNA from a large general database as well as from samples of fur obtained from both the victim's and the suspect's cats. That was quite a challenge, since the suspect lived with 11 cats, and 8 of those were reported to be related.

The scientists, however, were able to exclude that the hair originated from the victim's cats, but it could not be excluded from the cats living with the suspect, who claimed that the victim owed him money for carpet installation.

The suspect was found guilty of first-degree murder, due to cat hair mtDNA and other evidence, and was later sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Criminal profiling expert Wayne Petherick of Bond University told Discovery News that he was not shocked that such evidence was accepted by a U.S. court, "but I was surprised it had taken as long as it had. It was really only a matter of time."

He said that human hair is more commonly presented as evidence, but he believes that as mtDNA databases increase in size, pet hair as evidence will strengthen.

University of Leicester forensic scientist Jon Wetton agrees, but added that "it is currently an expensive specialist test which cannot offer strong evidence, so its use will be limited to high profile cases where more conventional approaches have failed to build a strong enough case."

Wetton and his colleagues, however, have created the U.K.'s first cat DNA database. Cat hair was used as evidence in a case in the U.K. last year. It has also been used in casework in Canada, Austria and Belgium.

Wetton said, "As more countries accept cat DNA as admissible evidence, I am sure that its use will become more commonplace as pet hairs are frequently recovered when taping evidential items."

(Discovery.com - Sept 28, 2014)

ORIGINAL STORY:

Cat Hair Leads To Charges In Murder Of Contractor

MISSOURI -- Cat hair helped investigators bring charges against a Kansas City man in the murder of a self-employed contractor last year.

Henry Lee Polk, 40, is accused of first degree murder and armed-criminal action in the death of Stephen M. Nolte.

Nolte was found dead by a relative at a home he was working on in the 5500 block of North Troost on March 8, 2004.

Investigators found cat hairs on the victim's pockets that had been turned inside out.

Officers learned that Polk kept several cats at his home.

The hairs from the crime scene were sent to a California laboratory.

"The results of these tests indicated a genetic DNA match between a hair found on the victim and two of the cats from the Polk residence," Clay County Prosecutor Daniel L. White said in a press
release.

According to court documents, a witness told investigators that Polk went to the home on North
Troost on March 7, 2004 to talk to Nolte about money he was owed for installing carpet for him.
The witness also told investigators that Polk later took Nolte's pickup truck and dropped it off in
Kansas City, Kan. Two days after the murder, the witness claimed Polk had her drive him to a spot
in Liberty where she saw him burn clothing that he was allegedly wearing the night of Nolte's
murder.
Polk is being held on $300,000 bond.

(KMBC - January 21, 2005)