FLORIDA -- Officers from the city's Animal Control took 37 dogs from a home in the 100 block of Southeast 28th Avenue on Saturday morning, after police served a search warrant on the house and found the dogs living in inadequate cages filled with urine and feces, and infested by rats.
The warrant was issued after a Nov. 30 incident in which someone called police, claiming that Marta Pejouhy, owner of the house, was seen walking a neighbor's dog that had been reported missing, according to Boynton Beach police.
Officers were unable to find that dog but did find about 30 other dogs living in wretched conditions at the home, police said.
Animal control is trying to get custody of the dogs, and if custody is granted, may put the dogs up for adoption.
(Sun Sentinel - January 23, 2000)
Sunday, January 23, 2000
Sunday, January 9, 2000
Connecticut: Joseph Loewy, 53, gets sweetheart deal from Judge Wendy Susco even though he's the reason a little girl's cat died of antifreeze poisoning
CONNECTICUT -- A Granby man accused of abducting a neighbor's cat and dropping it miles from home received a form of probation Friday that could wipe his record clean.
Joseph Loewy trapped the velvety black cat named Tiny late last year and drove it to the Glastonbury Industrial Park after an ongoing dispute with its owners. Tiny was found after two months on his own and returned home just before New Year's Day. He died a few days ago, apparently from antifreeze ingested during his wanderings.
The 53-year-old businessman claims he was protecting his own cat, Nate, who was repeatedly roughed up by Tiny, and his four horses, who were terrified of the prowling 16-pound neutered male.
But Loewy drew little sympathy from the abducted cat's owners, an interested neighbor and a few animal lovers who came from as far as East Hartland for Friday's sentencing on animal cruelty and larceny charges in Enfield Superior Court.
``It's made me ill. That animal suffered for over two months,'' said Dawn Leto of Glastonbury. ``I'm furious.''
Tiny's owner's -- Steven Fischer and Margaret Fiore Fischer -- strongly disagreed with Judge Wendy Susco's decision to grant Loewy accelerated rehabilitation, a form of probation used for first-time offenders. He was ordered to give $150 to an animal charity of his choice and cover Tiny's veterinarian bills -- approximately $375 -- since his return.
Tiny was the Fischers' 9-year-old daughter's pet.
Dressed in a blue blazer, tie and khakis, Loewy remained silent, while his attorney, T.R. Paulding of West Hartford, described him as a ``calm, rational and reasonable'' man.
``He recognizes what he did was wrong,'' Paulding said.
(Hartford Courant - Jan 8, 2000)
Joseph Loewy trapped the velvety black cat named Tiny late last year and drove it to the Glastonbury Industrial Park after an ongoing dispute with its owners. Tiny was found after two months on his own and returned home just before New Year's Day. He died a few days ago, apparently from antifreeze ingested during his wanderings.
The 53-year-old businessman claims he was protecting his own cat, Nate, who was repeatedly roughed up by Tiny, and his four horses, who were terrified of the prowling 16-pound neutered male.
But Loewy drew little sympathy from the abducted cat's owners, an interested neighbor and a few animal lovers who came from as far as East Hartland for Friday's sentencing on animal cruelty and larceny charges in Enfield Superior Court.
``It's made me ill. That animal suffered for over two months,'' said Dawn Leto of Glastonbury. ``I'm furious.''
Tiny's owner's -- Steven Fischer and Margaret Fiore Fischer -- strongly disagreed with Judge Wendy Susco's decision to grant Loewy accelerated rehabilitation, a form of probation used for first-time offenders. He was ordered to give $150 to an animal charity of his choice and cover Tiny's veterinarian bills -- approximately $375 -- since his return.
Tiny was the Fischers' 9-year-old daughter's pet.
Dressed in a blue blazer, tie and khakis, Loewy remained silent, while his attorney, T.R. Paulding of West Hartford, described him as a ``calm, rational and reasonable'' man.
``He recognizes what he did was wrong,'' Paulding said.
(Hartford Courant - Jan 8, 2000)
Sunday, December 12, 1999
California: Pamela Miller's trial has been postponed
CALIFORNIA -- Pamela Miller (aka Pam Miller, Pamela Miller-Sackter, Pam Sackter, Pamela Sackter) will have to wait a bit longer for her day in court.
Miller, whose trial on charges of operating an illegal dog shelter in Burbank had been scheduled to begin Thursday, now has until March to prepare her defense, court officials said.
Miller is accused of 14 Burbank municipal and penal code violations in connection with the non-profit Millerwood Animal Sanctuary at 110 and 120
W. Linden St.. Authorities allege she has operated without a kennel license since July 1998. On Thursday, Miller's trial was continued until March 10.
Among other violations, Miller is charged with cruelty to animals, impounding an animal without food and keeping animals in unsanitary conditions. She has denied all the charges.
The legal battle to keep the sanctuary open has been brewing since July 1998 when the Burbank Animal Shelter denied Miller's bid to renew her kennel license. In January, the Burbank City Council upheld that decision.
Since then, Miller has filed two lawsuits in U.S. District Court in which she has named city officials and local municipal court judges as defendants. She also filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.
In the federal lawsuits, Miller claims the city and numerous individuals violated her civil rights in an illegal search, said Asst.
City Atty. Richard Morillo. The city is waiting for decisions on requests for dismissals in both cases, he said.
The Superior Court case included a motion to overturn the City Council's decision not to renew her kennel license. In July, the court ruled in favor of the city, Morillo said.
In October, A Superior Court judge granted the city a preliminary injunction to force Millerwood to cease operating without a license.
The injunction allows the city to take possession of 120 dogs housed at the kennel. However, Miller appealed that decision in November and has managed to keep the city from acting on the injunction, said Michael Duberchin, Miller's attorney in the civil cases.
"This is about saving 120 lives," Duberchin said. "I don't know what the reason is behind the city -- I don't care what their motives are -- I just want to save those animals."
Duberchin said Miller does not have the funds to move her rescue operation to another city.
Shelter Superintendent Fred De Lange said that while the rescue is in better condition, Miller has failed to arrange adoptions for any of the dogs.
"She's caused this by not finding them homes," he said. "I would like to see her find those animals homes."
But Duberchin said the dogs Miller cares for are not easy to place.
"You can't find people who want junk yard dogs," he said. "They don't
want one-eyed, one-legged pit bull mixes."
(Burbank Leader - December 11, 1999)
Miller, whose trial on charges of operating an illegal dog shelter in Burbank had been scheduled to begin Thursday, now has until March to prepare her defense, court officials said.
Miller is accused of 14 Burbank municipal and penal code violations in connection with the non-profit Millerwood Animal Sanctuary at 110 and 120
W. Linden St.. Authorities allege she has operated without a kennel license since July 1998. On Thursday, Miller's trial was continued until March 10.
Among other violations, Miller is charged with cruelty to animals, impounding an animal without food and keeping animals in unsanitary conditions. She has denied all the charges.
The legal battle to keep the sanctuary open has been brewing since July 1998 when the Burbank Animal Shelter denied Miller's bid to renew her kennel license. In January, the Burbank City Council upheld that decision.
Since then, Miller has filed two lawsuits in U.S. District Court in which she has named city officials and local municipal court judges as defendants. She also filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.
In the federal lawsuits, Miller claims the city and numerous individuals violated her civil rights in an illegal search, said Asst.
City Atty. Richard Morillo. The city is waiting for decisions on requests for dismissals in both cases, he said.
The Superior Court case included a motion to overturn the City Council's decision not to renew her kennel license. In July, the court ruled in favor of the city, Morillo said.
In October, A Superior Court judge granted the city a preliminary injunction to force Millerwood to cease operating without a license.
The injunction allows the city to take possession of 120 dogs housed at the kennel. However, Miller appealed that decision in November and has managed to keep the city from acting on the injunction, said Michael Duberchin, Miller's attorney in the civil cases.
"This is about saving 120 lives," Duberchin said. "I don't know what the reason is behind the city -- I don't care what their motives are -- I just want to save those animals."
Duberchin said Miller does not have the funds to move her rescue operation to another city.
Shelter Superintendent Fred De Lange said that while the rescue is in better condition, Miller has failed to arrange adoptions for any of the dogs.
"She's caused this by not finding them homes," he said. "I would like to see her find those animals homes."
But Duberchin said the dogs Miller cares for are not easy to place.
"You can't find people who want junk yard dogs," he said. "They don't
want one-eyed, one-legged pit bull mixes."
(Burbank Leader - December 11, 1999)
Friday, November 19, 1999
Oklahoma: Mycha Herbert still recovering after being attacked by his family's Pit Bull. The dog ripped off his nose, eyelids and mouth
OKLAHOMA -- Mycha Lee Herbert had quite a week.
He went to Chicago. He appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey" show. And he lost his nose.
A lost nose is an occupational hazard for the active, 3-year-old Tulsan. Mycha survived having his face torn off by a dog more than a year ago, but life since then is full of challenges.
Some days, the biggest challenge is keeping track of the metal bars that form the mounting points for his prosthetic nose.
"He lost his nose when he was out riding his bike in the parking lot one evening" across the street from his home, his grandmother Linda Maritano said. "We found it with skid marks on it the next day.
"We're sure glad he wasn't in it."
Mycha's situation isn't funny, but neither is it pathetic to the family that has worked hard to make sure the child grows up as normally as possible.
A slightly battered artificial nose doesn't faze the boy. He has seen worse in his short life.
Mycha barely survived the Sept. 4, 1998, attack by the family dog, a pit bull named Blue. Relatives found Mycha in the back yard of his home with only his eyes and forehead intact on his head.
He had no nose, no mouth and no eyelids.
A miracle carried out by a team of plastic surgeons at Children's Medical Center in Dallas turned the flesh from his legs, forearms and belly into a face.
"It's because of Mycha being who he is that he came through it," Maritano said. "He's remarkable."
Since that first trip to Dallas, surgery has been a regular part of Mycha's life.
Surgeons placed springs in his jaw last week to replace the facial muscles he lost in the dog attack, Maritano said.
Shortly after that surgery, Mycha was off to Chicago for taping of the Oprah show, his grandmother said.
Somewhere in the excitement of the trip and the hustling to get to the taping, Mycha lost part of his nose. The vertical bar, one of two bars that magnetically attach to his skull, was lost.
Without the piece that forms the bridge of his temporary nose, he put on his prosthetic and went off to the taping, Maritano said.
"He lost the inside of his nose. He didn't seem to care," Maritano said. "I wanted to ask him, `Boy, where's the inside of your nose?' "
After the taping, the family was back on the road to Dallas for construction of a new bar. When the Oprah episode aired Monday, the family expected the little boy would be in surgery, Maritano said.
But a late-arriving magnet meant waiting until Tuesday, she said.
Mycha faces a lifetime of surgeries. Doctors expect him to undergo more than 30 major surgeries and many minor operations as he matures.
Eventually, some time around age 14, when his face stops growing, doctors plan to give him a permanent nose. Using a rib and, possibly, skin from his face, they plan to construct a new nose, Maritano said.
Meanwhile, Mycha is busy living the life of a boy. He gets into anything that's open around the house, he rides his bike, and he's busy honing his golf game, Maritano said.
"His daddy takes him out every other day, and he hits a bucket of balls," Maritano said. "The next Tiger - he's a phenom."
He might never rival golfing great Tiger Woods, but don't doubt his will, Maritano said.
"There's no way to undo the damage that was done," she said. "But he doesn't think that he is any different. He thinks he's normal, and that's what he is."
(Amarillo News - November 18, 1999)
He went to Chicago. He appeared on the "Oprah Winfrey" show. And he lost his nose.
A lost nose is an occupational hazard for the active, 3-year-old Tulsan. Mycha survived having his face torn off by a dog more than a year ago, but life since then is full of challenges.
Some days, the biggest challenge is keeping track of the metal bars that form the mounting points for his prosthetic nose.
"He lost his nose when he was out riding his bike in the parking lot one evening" across the street from his home, his grandmother Linda Maritano said. "We found it with skid marks on it the next day.
"We're sure glad he wasn't in it."
Mycha's situation isn't funny, but neither is it pathetic to the family that has worked hard to make sure the child grows up as normally as possible.
A slightly battered artificial nose doesn't faze the boy. He has seen worse in his short life.
Mycha barely survived the Sept. 4, 1998, attack by the family dog, a pit bull named Blue. Relatives found Mycha in the back yard of his home with only his eyes and forehead intact on his head.
He had no nose, no mouth and no eyelids.
A miracle carried out by a team of plastic surgeons at Children's Medical Center in Dallas turned the flesh from his legs, forearms and belly into a face.
"It's because of Mycha being who he is that he came through it," Maritano said. "He's remarkable."
Since that first trip to Dallas, surgery has been a regular part of Mycha's life.
Surgeons placed springs in his jaw last week to replace the facial muscles he lost in the dog attack, Maritano said.
Shortly after that surgery, Mycha was off to Chicago for taping of the Oprah show, his grandmother said.
Somewhere in the excitement of the trip and the hustling to get to the taping, Mycha lost part of his nose. The vertical bar, one of two bars that magnetically attach to his skull, was lost.
Without the piece that forms the bridge of his temporary nose, he put on his prosthetic and went off to the taping, Maritano said.
"He lost the inside of his nose. He didn't seem to care," Maritano said. "I wanted to ask him, `Boy, where's the inside of your nose?' "
After the taping, the family was back on the road to Dallas for construction of a new bar. When the Oprah episode aired Monday, the family expected the little boy would be in surgery, Maritano said.
But a late-arriving magnet meant waiting until Tuesday, she said.
Mycha faces a lifetime of surgeries. Doctors expect him to undergo more than 30 major surgeries and many minor operations as he matures.
Eventually, some time around age 14, when his face stops growing, doctors plan to give him a permanent nose. Using a rib and, possibly, skin from his face, they plan to construct a new nose, Maritano said.
Meanwhile, Mycha is busy living the life of a boy. He gets into anything that's open around the house, he rides his bike, and he's busy honing his golf game, Maritano said.
"His daddy takes him out every other day, and he hits a bucket of balls," Maritano said. "The next Tiger - he's a phenom."
He might never rival golfing great Tiger Woods, but don't doubt his will, Maritano said.
"There's no way to undo the damage that was done," she said. "But he doesn't think that he is any different. He thinks he's normal, and that's what he is."
(Amarillo News - November 18, 1999)
Wednesday, August 25, 1999
Oklahoma: Edward Tatum, 21, sentenced to 2years for dog fighting (animal cruelty) and burglary
Offender: Edward D. Tatum
Gender: Male
Race: Black
Height: 5 ft 9 in
Weight: 161 lbs
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Birth Date: 04/17/1978
Age at conviction: 21
OKLAHOMA DOC#: 257936
#1
#2
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: BURGLARY - SECOND DEGREE
Conviction date: 01/27/1998
Term: 2 Years
Offense: BURGLARY - SECOND DEGREE
Conviction date: 01/27/1998
Term: 2 Years
Gender: Male
Race: Black
Height: 5 ft 9 in
Weight: 161 lbs
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Birth Date: 04/17/1978
Age at conviction: 21
OKLAHOMA DOC#: 257936
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: INSTIGATING OR ENCOURAGING DOGFIGHT
Conviction date: 8/16/1999
Term: 2 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Sentence begins: 8/24/1999
Sentence ended: 7/6/2000
#2
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: BURGLARY - SECOND DEGREE
Conviction date: 01/27/1998
Term: 2 Years
Term code: Probation
Sentence begins: 8/24/1999
Sentence ended: 8/23/2001
#3
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURTOffense: BURGLARY - SECOND DEGREE
Conviction date: 01/27/1998
Term: 2 Years
Term code: Probation
Sentence begins: 8/24/1999
Sentence ended: 8/23/2001
#4
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: BURGLARY - SECOND DEGREE
Conviction date: 01/27/1998
Term: 2 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Offense: BURGLARY - SECOND DEGREE
Conviction date: 01/27/1998
Term: 2 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Sentence begins: 8/24/1999
Sentence ended: 7/6/2000
#5
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: BURGLARY - SECOND DEGREE
Conviction date: 01/27/1998
Term: 2 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Offense: BURGLARY - SECOND DEGREE
Conviction date: 01/27/1998
Term: 2 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Sentence begins: 8/24/1999
Sentence ended: 7/6/2000
THESE CHARGES CAME AFTER HE WAS RELEASED FROM PRISON
#6
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: POSS OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
Conviction date: 11/19/2009
Term: 5 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Sentence begins:2/2/2010
Sentence ended: 3/24/2013
#7
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: POSS OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
Conviction date:
Term: 2 Years, 4 Months, 6 Days
Term code: P&P SUSPENDED
Sentence begins: 11/18/2010
Sentence ended: 03/23/2013
Offense: POSS OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
Conviction date: 11/19/2009
Term: 5 Years
Term code: Incarceration
Sentence begins:2/2/2010
Sentence ended: 3/24/2013
#7
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: POSS OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE
Conviction date:
Term: 2 Years, 4 Months, 6 Days
Term code: P&P SUSPENDED
Sentence begins: 11/18/2010
Sentence ended: 03/23/2013
Friday, July 23, 1999
Florida: Abuse and neglected animals seized from James Schupolsky and Yvonne Moran who were running the "Hoof and Halter Foundation"
FLORIDA -- As a Broward Animal Control officer led the gray horse through the farm's gate, it appeared as if the animal would faint and tumble.
With every step toward a horse trailer, it looked as if its meatless bones were going to pierce its skin as its eyes blankly stared forward.
Sixteen more horses followed, some with weeks worth of feces caked around their hooves. In between, 20 dogs, 20 cats and 22 birds also were led away on Thursday from the Hoof and Halter Foundation, a non-profit institute that took in unwanted animals.
For some years, the foundation worked with the Broward Sheriff's Office Abuse and Neglect Investigations unit, taking in animals seized in abuse and neglect cases.
But on Thursday, Davie police and Broward County Animal Control were seizing the animals from the foundation in what Davie police said was one of the worst animal-cruelty cases in the town's history.
"This just kills me," said Laura Musgrave, a teary-eyed neighbor watching the grim parade.
Davie police spokesman Lt. Gary Killam said officers showed up at the ranch about 9 a.m., after receiving a picture of an emaciated horse on the property at 14151 SW 26th St. At the five-acre farm, officers found a dead horse covered by a tarp and a dead pig in a pen.
And investigators also saw more than 70 animals in filthy conditions. They found starving horses standing deep in their feces, birds without feathers and a dog with an eye protruding out of its head, Killam said. The badly lit interior of the home was littered with garbage and animal excrement. There were feces on a mattress in one of the rooms.
The dogs, cats and birds were taken to a Humane Society shelter and the horses to stables owned by the American Society for the Protection against Cruelty to Animals.
"This is one of the worst cases [of animal neglect] I've seen," Killam said.
Yvonne Moran (aka Yvonne Moran Golden), who runs the ranch with her husband, James Wayne Schupolsky, said the dead horse on her property had been put to sleep by a veterinarian earlier in the day because it was too old. She said she has dedicated more than 15 years to caring for animals.
"If it needs me, I take it," Moran said. "I have a lot of problems with my neighbors. They do not understand what I'm doing."
Moran said many people resent her because she has taken in animals they abused or neglected.
"I have a lot of enemies because I used to go with the Sheriff's Department when they picked up animals," she said.
Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright confirmed her agency worked with Moran and her husband in the late '80s, but said it has been years since they last cooperated.
Sherry Schlueter, head of the agency's Office Abuse and Neglect Investigations, was out of the country, but has complimented the couple in the past.
"I know that they are very caring individuals," Schlueter told the Sun-Sentinel in 1989. "They take a deep personal interest in each animal that comes in. ... I know Yvonne goes out and massages the horses' legs. She takes a very personal interest, an intense interest, in each animal. You couldn't pay enough money for that type of care. It has to come from the heart."
Killam said no charges have been filed against Schupolsky or Moran. He said the investigation will reveal whether the couple neglected the animals or simply kept taking in more animals than they could afford.
"If you don't have the money to take care of them, you need to seek help," he said. "You have to realize your limits."
(Sun Sentinel - July 23, 1999)
With every step toward a horse trailer, it looked as if its meatless bones were going to pierce its skin as its eyes blankly stared forward.
Sixteen more horses followed, some with weeks worth of feces caked around their hooves. In between, 20 dogs, 20 cats and 22 birds also were led away on Thursday from the Hoof and Halter Foundation, a non-profit institute that took in unwanted animals.
For some years, the foundation worked with the Broward Sheriff's Office Abuse and Neglect Investigations unit, taking in animals seized in abuse and neglect cases.
But on Thursday, Davie police and Broward County Animal Control were seizing the animals from the foundation in what Davie police said was one of the worst animal-cruelty cases in the town's history.
"This just kills me," said Laura Musgrave, a teary-eyed neighbor watching the grim parade.
Davie police spokesman Lt. Gary Killam said officers showed up at the ranch about 9 a.m., after receiving a picture of an emaciated horse on the property at 14151 SW 26th St. At the five-acre farm, officers found a dead horse covered by a tarp and a dead pig in a pen.
And investigators also saw more than 70 animals in filthy conditions. They found starving horses standing deep in their feces, birds without feathers and a dog with an eye protruding out of its head, Killam said. The badly lit interior of the home was littered with garbage and animal excrement. There were feces on a mattress in one of the rooms.
The dogs, cats and birds were taken to a Humane Society shelter and the horses to stables owned by the American Society for the Protection against Cruelty to Animals.
"This is one of the worst cases [of animal neglect] I've seen," Killam said.
Yvonne Moran (aka Yvonne Moran Golden), who runs the ranch with her husband, James Wayne Schupolsky, said the dead horse on her property had been put to sleep by a veterinarian earlier in the day because it was too old. She said she has dedicated more than 15 years to caring for animals.
"If it needs me, I take it," Moran said. "I have a lot of problems with my neighbors. They do not understand what I'm doing."
Moran said many people resent her because she has taken in animals they abused or neglected.
"I have a lot of enemies because I used to go with the Sheriff's Department when they picked up animals," she said.
Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright confirmed her agency worked with Moran and her husband in the late '80s, but said it has been years since they last cooperated.
Sherry Schlueter, head of the agency's Office Abuse and Neglect Investigations, was out of the country, but has complimented the couple in the past.
"I know that they are very caring individuals," Schlueter told the Sun-Sentinel in 1989. "They take a deep personal interest in each animal that comes in. ... I know Yvonne goes out and massages the horses' legs. She takes a very personal interest, an intense interest, in each animal. You couldn't pay enough money for that type of care. It has to come from the heart."
Killam said no charges have been filed against Schupolsky or Moran. He said the investigation will reveal whether the couple neglected the animals or simply kept taking in more animals than they could afford.
"If you don't have the money to take care of them, you need to seek help," he said. "You have to realize your limits."
(Sun Sentinel - July 23, 1999)
Sunday, July 11, 1999
Kansas: Sabine Davidson's murder conviction upheld after her Rottweilers attacked and killed an 11-year-old boy
KANSAS -- Sabine M. Davidson's murder conviction was upheld Friday by the Kansas Supreme Court, which said her failure to control her Rottweilers caused the death of an 11-year-old boy.
In April 1997, Christopher Wilson was mauled by three Rottweilers owned by Davidson, who lived in rural Milford at the time. Her attorney, Keith Sevedge of Lenexa, declined to say where she lives now.
A Geary County District Court jury convicted Davidson last year of unintentional second-degree murder and sentenced her to 146 months in prison -- 12 years and 2 months. She has been free on bond during the appeal. On Friday, the state's highest court unanimously upheld the conviction.
"The opinion does not mean the end of the matter in the Supreme Court," Sevedge said, without elaborating. He could ask the court to reconsider its ruling, but it is rare for the judges to reverse themselves.
Under Kansas law, Sabine Davidson will have to serve 80 percent of the sentence before being paroled.
Sabine Davidson also was sentenced to a concurrent one-year term on a charge of child endangerment and ordered to serve 36 months of parole after serving the 12-year sentence.
Geary County Attorney Chris Biggs, who argued the case before the Supreme Court in May, said he was pleased with the ruling.
"If this case has the effect of making people more careful in controlling their animals and preventing something like this from happening in the future, that will be a positive result," Biggs said.
The victim's mother, Violet Wilson, of Milford, said she cried when Biggs called her with news of the ruling.
"Justice has been served now. I would have been sad if she had walked free after she ruined our lives," she said.
During arguments before the justices, Sevedge said Davidson's actions weren't a "depraved heart murder," that her conviction should be reversed and she should be granted another trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
The court disagreed, saying Davidson "created an unreasonable risk and then consciously disregarded it in a manner and to the extent that it reasonably could be inferred that she was extremely indifferent to the value of human life."
In its opinion, the court said Davidson was warned as early as 1995 her dogs were a problem. It noted at one point she laughed when told a Rottweiler puppy nipped at a 3-year-old girl's legs.
Her husband, Jeffrey Davidson, was charged in Geary County with involuntary manslaughter. His trial was to begin after his wife's. But after his wife was found guilty by the jury, he quickly took a plea deal and was placed on probation for five years. He was not allowed to own dogs during this time.
Christopher Wilson and his brother, Tramell, 9, were waiting for their school bus when they were chased up a tree by the three dogs. After Christopher climbed down, the dogs attacked and dragged him about 70 feet to a ravine. The dogs were shot by police later that day.
(The Topeka Capital-Journal - July 10, 1999)
Earlier:
In April 1997, Christopher Wilson was mauled by three Rottweilers owned by Davidson, who lived in rural Milford at the time. Her attorney, Keith Sevedge of Lenexa, declined to say where she lives now.
A Geary County District Court jury convicted Davidson last year of unintentional second-degree murder and sentenced her to 146 months in prison -- 12 years and 2 months. She has been free on bond during the appeal. On Friday, the state's highest court unanimously upheld the conviction.
"The opinion does not mean the end of the matter in the Supreme Court," Sevedge said, without elaborating. He could ask the court to reconsider its ruling, but it is rare for the judges to reverse themselves.
Under Kansas law, Sabine Davidson will have to serve 80 percent of the sentence before being paroled.
Sabine Davidson also was sentenced to a concurrent one-year term on a charge of child endangerment and ordered to serve 36 months of parole after serving the 12-year sentence.
Geary County Attorney Chris Biggs, who argued the case before the Supreme Court in May, said he was pleased with the ruling.
"If this case has the effect of making people more careful in controlling their animals and preventing something like this from happening in the future, that will be a positive result," Biggs said.
The victim's mother, Violet Wilson, of Milford, said she cried when Biggs called her with news of the ruling.
"Justice has been served now. I would have been sad if she had walked free after she ruined our lives," she said.
During arguments before the justices, Sevedge said Davidson's actions weren't a "depraved heart murder," that her conviction should be reversed and she should be granted another trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
The court disagreed, saying Davidson "created an unreasonable risk and then consciously disregarded it in a manner and to the extent that it reasonably could be inferred that she was extremely indifferent to the value of human life."
In its opinion, the court said Davidson was warned as early as 1995 her dogs were a problem. It noted at one point she laughed when told a Rottweiler puppy nipped at a 3-year-old girl's legs.
Her husband, Jeffrey Davidson, was charged in Geary County with involuntary manslaughter. His trial was to begin after his wife's. But after his wife was found guilty by the jury, he quickly took a plea deal and was placed on probation for five years. He was not allowed to own dogs during this time.
Christopher Wilson and his brother, Tramell, 9, were waiting for their school bus when they were chased up a tree by the three dogs. After Christopher climbed down, the dogs attacked and dragged him about 70 feet to a ravine. The dogs were shot by police later that day.
(The Topeka Capital-Journal - July 10, 1999)
Earlier:
- Kansas: Frenzied Rottweilers chase, attack and kill Kansas boy, 11
- Kansas: Sabine Davidson refused to take a plea deal after her Rottweilers chased, mauled and killed an 11-year old boy. A jury just found her GUILTY of 2nd degree murder.
- Kansas: Sabine Davidson refused to take a plea deal on a charge of involuntary manslaughter after her Rottweilers attacked and killed an 11-year-old boy. Last month a jury convicted Sabine of 2nd degree murder. This convinced her husband Jeffrey Davidson not to risk a jury trial; he took the original plea offer of involuntary manslaughter and is sentenced to probation
- Kansas: Sabine Davidson's attorney complains that her murder charge is excessive. Her Rottweilers chased, attacked, mauled and killed 11-year-old Chris Wilson
- Kansas: Sabine Davidson was convicted of reckless 2nd-degree murder after her Rottweiler mauled an 11-year-old boy to death. Davidson's appeal, which was denied, says she "conveniently ignores significant aspects of her conduct that contributed to the tragic death of Chris"
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