Oregon: Marty Anthony, 58, gets $100,000 bond after torturing and repeatedly stabbing his brother's two dogs in the head, killing one

OREGON -- A 58-year-old Douglas County man is accused of torturing his brother’s two mixed golden retriever-terrier dogs to death.

Martin Anthony is charged with two counts of aggravated first-degree animal abuse and two counts of first-degree animal abuse.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirms they responded to the 77000 block of Highway 101 in Gardiner, Oregon on July 16 on the report that two dogs had been injured under suspicious circumstances.

When deputies arrived, they spoke with the 9-1-1 caller and his female neighbor. The deputy first on scene reported seeing a large tree on the property and that at the base of the tree were two motionless dogs that were surrounded by blood.

Investigators confirmed the two dogs were 10-year-old brothers from the same litter. The dogs were named Shep and Shag.

When deputies approached the tree, they found a rope with metal clasps on both ends. The rope was wrapped around an exposed root at the base of the tree. One end of the rope was attached to Shep and the other attached to Shag.

Shep had a large cut on the top of his head and the wound was bleeding profusely. He was rushed to a local animal hospital. Shag also had a large cut to his head and was found deceased at the base of the tree.

Investigators learned that neither dogs were ever tied up by their owners. The dogs’ other owner was out of town at the time of the attack.

“There is no reason why they should be tied up,” deputies wrote in court documents. “From looking at the evidence, it appeared to me that Shep and Shag had been tied together to prevent them from running away. Then they were hit on the head with an edged weapon.”

Investigator spoke with staff at the animal hospital and learned that Shag had a cut on the top of his head and also had several “uniform” round holes in the top of his head and that the injuries were likely from an ice pick or similar style instrument.

The other dog, Shep, was heavily sedated and at last report may need to be put down.

Deputies eventually contacted Anthony who is reported to be bipolar and has schizophrenia. He denied hurting the dogs. Investigators learned that Anthony is the brother of one of the dogs’ owners.

Investigators found a large knife and metal file that were covered in blood.

“There was blood and dog fur on the blade” on the knife, according to court documents.

Investigators also found Anthony’s pants and boots that reportedly had blood on them. When asked how the blood got there, Anthony asked for a lawyer.

Anthony is being held at the Douglas County Jail. He appeared in court on Monday. His bail is set at $25,000.

ARREST INFO:
Full Name: Martin Joseph Anthony
Alias: Marty Joseph Anthony, Marty Anthony
Gender: Male
Race: White
Height: 5'09"
Weight: 165 lbs
Hair Color: BAL
Eye Color: HAZ
Birthdate: 02/14/1959
Arrest Age: 58

Arrest Date: 07/16/2017

Arrest Time: 6:36 PM
Total Bond: $100,000
Arrest Location:77231 HWY 101, Douglas, OR
Location: Douglas County, Oregon
Charges
#1 AGGRAVATED ANIMAL ABUSE 1ST DEG
STATUTE: 167.322 ( F)
BOND: $50,000

#2 AGGRAVATED ANIMAL ABUSE 1ST DEG
STATUTE: 167.322 ( F)
BOND: $50,000

(KOIN - July 18, 2017)

El Salvador: Beloved hippo dies after brutal icepick attack at El Salvador zoo

EL SALVADOR -- A beloved hippopotamus named Gustavito died at El Salvador’s National Zoo Sunday from injuries sustained in a violent attack last week.

Police are currently searching for those responsible for entering Gustavito’s enclosure and beating him with blunt and sharp objects, CNN reported.

Zoo officials noticed on Thursday that Gustavito was acting strangely and would not come out of the water in his enclosure or eat.

Zoo director Vladan Henriquez said at a news conference that the hippo was covered with bruises and puncture wounds after apparently being attacked with metal bars, knives and rocks.

Henriquez said at a news conference that Gustavito sustained injuries to his feet and cheek while he was likely trying to defend himself. He said the wounds might have been from an ice pick.

"There were injuries inside his mouth," Henríquez said.

Despite the zoo’s best efforts, the 15-year-old hippo died on Sunday. Authorities are currently investigating the incident, BBC reported.

Officials have described it as a cowardly and inhumane attack on one of the most iconic animals at the city's zoo.

On social media, many used the hashtag #Gustavito to mourn the hippo’s passing and call for justice.

"Here we're used to seeing the dead every day," Martin Castillo, a street vendor in the capital's historic downtown, said.

"They kill us like flies, but this tops it all. They killed an animal that only entertained us."

El Salvador is one of the world's most violent countries, recording 5,278 homicides last year, or an average of 14 people killed per day. Most of the killings have been blamed on powerful street gangs.

Gustavito was born and raised in Guatemala, but was brought to El Salvador 13 years ago.

(USA Today - Feb 28, 2017)

Texas: Sharon Finley, 56, sentenced to EIGHT YEARS in prison for the 'gruesome death' of a Husky

TEXAS --An Axtell woman with 14 prior convictions, including two felonies, was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison in the death of a dog she claims she was trying to rescue.

Sharon Diane Finley, 56, an apartment manager who said she loves animals, will have to serve at least four years in prison after her conviction on an animal cruelty charge.

Prosecutors Robert Moody and Ryan Bownds asked the 54th State District Court jury of eight women and four men to give Finley a maximum 10-year prison term, saying she has had plenty of time to change her behavior throughout her lengthy criminal history that dates back to 1980 and runs through last year.

It still isn’t clear just how the Siberian husky known as Thor was killed.

Prosecution witnesses said he died from a stab or puncture wound to the side, while Finley and two defense witnesses said he was struck by a car on U.S. Highway 84 near Bellmead.

What is clear from the two-day trial is Thor and another husky named Loki belonged to Whitney and Matthew Daniels and that Thor died in Finley’s custody after she picked up both dogs near the Daniels’ home on Riverview Road near Downsville.

When deputies confronted Finley about the dogs, they found blood covering the back seat of Finley’s car and a folding pocket knife with blood and dog hair on it.

Witnesses spotted Finley picking up the dogs and putting them into her car in December 2015 and then coming back about 90 minutes later and dumping Thor’s body in a ditch at South Third Street and Riverview Road. Loki, who was in the car, jumped out and ran back home.

Whitney Daniels cried Wednesday during her testimony in the punishment phase of the trial, telling the jury Thor, a rescued dog, had become a valued member of her family and that they and Loki miss him very much.

“He wasn’t just an animal,” she said. “He basically became part of our family really quick. He was basically like one of my sons.”

After Whitney Daniels’ testimony, she sat in the back of the courtroom to watch the completion of the trial. During a break between witnesses, Finley turned to her and said, “I’m sorry,” making Daniels cry again. A deputy admonished Finley and told her to face the front of the courtroom.

After the trial was over, Whitney Daniels said she thinks Finley should have gotten 10 years in prison, but said no amount of time would bring back Thor.

Daniels’ husband, Matthew, testified Tuesday that his family was going to a movie that day and left the two dogs tethered to 30-foot cables in the front yard.

Whitney Daniels said after the trial Wednesday that she thinks Finley saw her dogs, came into their yard and stole them.

Finley, who testified Tuesday, denied taking the dogs off the cables and said she feared they would be hurt because they were running in the roadway. She said she knocked on the door of a home to ask about the dogs’ owners, but no one was home.

Finley did not testify Wednesday, but four of her friends and her aunt all testified that she is a kind, caring person who loves animals and who goes out of her way to help others. They said she takes better care of her six dogs and horses than she does herself.

Most of them, however, said they were not familiar with Finley’s extensive criminal record and agreed with prosecutors that there is another side to Finley that she had not shown them.

Finley’s attorney, Phil Martinez, asked the jury for the minimum, two-year prison term.

“She is devastated about the outcome and the trial,” Martinez said. “I still don’t think she had any intent to harm any animal. But the jury saw it a different way, and we respect the jury’s decision.”

The prosecutors presented evidence showing Finley has felony convictions for credit card abuse and forgery and misdemeanor convictions for terroristic threat, reckless driving, two DWIs, driving while license suspended, three criminal trespass convictions, driving while license invalid, making a false report to police, assault and evading police.

(Waco Tribune - Nov 30, 2016)

Earlier:

• Texas: Sharon Finley, 56, convicted of animal cruelty in Husky’s death

Texas: Sharon Finley, 56, convicted of animal cruelty in Husky’s gruesome death

TEXAS -- An Axtell woman who claims she was trying to rescue two Siberian huskies she saw running loose near Downsville last year was convicted of animal cruelty Tuesday after one of the dogs suffered an apparent puncture wound and died in her custody.

Jurors in Waco’s 54th State District Court deliberated about 90 minutes before finding Sharon Diane Finley, 56, guilty and determining she used a deadly weapon to kill the husky called Thor before dumping his body near Riverview Road and South Third Street.

A second husky called Loki jumped out of her car and ran home after Finley stopped to throw Thor’s body out in December 2015, according to trial testimony.

The punishment phase of the trial starts Wednesday morning. The jury’s deadly weapon finding bumps the crime from a state-jail felony to a third-degree felony.

Finley, who has felony convictions for credit card abuse and forgery and a handful of misdemeanor convictions, is not eligible for probation and faces from two to 10 years in prison.

While prosecutors Robert Moody and Ryan Bownds acknowledged to the jury in summations they don’t know exactly how the dog died, they said two things are clear: Finley didn’t have permission from the owners to take the dogs, and Thor would still be alive if she had not.

Blood-stained seat
Deputies found a pocketknife with blood and dog hair on it and an ice pick in the bloodstained back seat of Finley’s car. However, the dog was not examined by a veterinarian after his death, and it remains undetermined how the wound was inflicted.

Finley’s attorney, Phil Martinez, told the jury that prosecutors did not meet their burden of proof in the case, that there are still too many unanswered questions and that Thor’s death was the result of a “horrible accident.”

Finley testified that she and her mother, who lives on Honey Lane near the Brazos River, had run some errands and she had dropped her mother off at home when she saw Thor and Loki running across the road.

Finley said she has six rescue dogs of her own and works with animal shelters because of her love for animals. She said she stopped to get the dogs and put them into her car so she could try to find out who their owners are.

The dogs’ owner, Matthew Daniels, testified that he and his children were going to a movie that day and left the dogs where they normally are, tethered to 30-foot cables in the front yard of their home.

Finley denied taking the dogs off the cables and said she feared they would be hurt because they were running in the roadway. She said she knocked on the door of a home to ask about the dogs’ owners, but no one was home.

She said she drove to a friend’s home near Bellmead and was going to ask him if the dogs could stay there until she found the owners. When she stopped, the dogs jumped from the car and ran across U.S. Highway 84. One of the dogs started chasing a horse, while Finley and two women, who also work with animal rescue centers and who stopped their car to help, tried to get the dogs back in the car.

While the women ran to one side of the highway, the dogs crossed back and ran back toward the car, Finley and the two women testified.

When they got back to the car, the women spotted Thor lying on the shoulder of the road with blood coming from his mouth and nose. None of the women said they saw him get hit by a car, but all testified they assumed that is what happened.

The two women led Finley in their car to an emergency animal hospital off Interstate 35 south of Waco, but Thor was dead by the time they got there, Finley said.

“It made me very upset. I am an animal lover and I was very upset,” Finley said.

The women, Kathy Craver and Barbara Roscher, both told the jury they did not see a puncture wound on Thor’s side and that there was no blood in the back seat of Finley’s car when they helped load the dog.

Finley said she drove back to Riverview Road and put Thor’s body in a ditch, hoping his owners would come along and bury him. She said she intended to come back the next day with plans to bury him if his body was still there.

“I bury all my dogs, and I thought whoever owned it would want to bury it,” she said.

Finley denied she stabbed the dog with the knife or ice pick in her car.

“I rescue dogs. That’s what I do. I couldn’t believe they were arresting me for animal abuse,” Finley said.

McLennan County Sheriff’s Deputy Glenn Kennedy said he asked Finley about the blood in the back seat of her car, and she said she didn’t know what he was talking about.

“There was a lot of blood,” Kennedy said. “Whatever had taken place in the back seat of that car was gruesome. There was a lot of blood and hair.”

He said he suspected Finley was impaired by alcohol when he spoke to her and that she became belligerent and verbally abusive as he took her to jail.

(Waco Tribune - Nov 29, 2016)