3 Charged in 7-Pound Pomeranian’s Death

Nokomis, FL — The violent death of a 7-pound Pomeranian in Nokomis in June led to the arrest of three people over the past few days. One of the three has since died in what authorities say was an apparent suicide at the Sarasota County Jail.

According to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were sent to 112 North River Road in Nokomis on June 27 after a witness reported seeing people mishandling a small dog. The witness told authorities Judy Lamb, 56, and Eddie Roden, 70, mishandled the dog while its owner was asleep.

“According to the witness, Lamb was seen carrying the dog by its neck and Roden, carrying it by its tail,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a media release.

• See also: Sarasota Inmate’s Death Under Investigation

When deputies entered the home, they found the dog, “Georgie,” dead.

Deputies say they questioned Lamb who told them she tried to strangle the dog unsuccessfully. That is when Mona Gehman, 51, is accused of stepping in to “finish the job,” the sheriff’s office noted.

Roden is also accused of tying a shoestring around the dog’s neck, deputies said.

A necropsy of the dog concluded it died as a result of trauma to the head and abdomen.

All three were brought into custody on animal cruelty charges. Lamb, however, was found dead in her jail cell Tuesday evening. Her death is now under investigation, but has been called an apparent suicide by the sheriff’s office.

Booking photos of Roden, Gehman and Lamb courtesy of the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office