Woman And Teenage Son Allegedly Steal And Shoot Neighbor’s Dog In Desert
Maria Christina Furtado, 40, allegedly stole her neighbor’s young pit bull dog named Duke and took him in the desert and shot him multiple times to death with a hand gun. She also allegedly made her 15-year-old son shoot the dog and had another of her children watch the grisly spectacle. Why? As an act of revenge. Furtado believed that Duke killed two of her ducklings several days before he was stolen, as stated in the Examiner.
According to the sheriff’s office, Furtado took her two children in her car to commit the horrific deed. In addition to her 15-year-old, her other child is only 3-years-old. She then drove to the neighbor’s house to take young pit bull Duke and kill him. The following was stated in a press release from the sheriff’s office, according to Heavy.
“Deputies discovered that when Furtado reached the desert area she took the puppy out of the vehicle with a pistol in her hand. She then shot the puppy more than once.”
Of course, Duke’s owners are heartbroken over the loss of their canine family member. Owner Rick Willis stated the following.
“It’s heart-wrenching. This is a dog that was a family pet.”
And owner Skye Turpin stated the following. “I don’t even know how someone could do that. That’s just sick. And then having her kids be there, that’s wrong.”
Furtado is from Pahrump, Nevada, and was arrested and booked into the Nye County Jail on Sunday. She has been charged with three felonies, including animal cruelty, two counts of neglect/abuse of a child, and larceny. Her teenage son is not facing any charges at this time, according to the Daily Mail. If she is found guilty of the child endangerment charges, Furtado faces a minimum of two years in prison and not more than 20 years in prison, according to Nevada state law.
A 2011 law passed by the Nevada legislature made it a felony to kill animals that are kept as pets. The law is called “Cooney’s Law,” and it was named after a beagle that was killed by its owners in Reno, Nevada.
What charges do you think Furtado should face? How long a jail term should she face? Please leave your comments below.
In another recent horrific case of animal abuse, a beloved family Pomeranian was stolen and beaten to death. The heartless killer or killers even left a note bragging about it on top of the dog’s lifeless corpse, according to an article in the Inquisitr.
