Puppy Doe Trial: Dog Had Skull Fractures, Crushing Spine Injuries

QUINCY, MA — One of the most highly anticipated animal cruelty trials got underway with opening statements and testimony Thursday.

A 16-person jury heard the start of the Puppy Doe trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham. Polish national Radoslaw Czerkawski faces accusations of torturing a pit bull and inflicting injuries so severe that the dog had to be put down.

Authorities say Czerkawski bought the dog on Craigslist in July 2013 and tortured it for its few remaining days. The dog was found near a playground the following month and had to be euthanized due to its injuries.

Following a two-month investigation, police identified Czerkawski, who at the time was living in the Quincy home of a woman he was taking care of, as the owner of the dog. He was taken into custody at a hotel in New Britain, Conn.

Gregory Connor, a prosecutor with the Norfolk County District Attorney's office told jurors that the dog suffered five skull fractures, seven crushing injuries to her spine, two broken ribs, a broken femur, and a sliced tongue.

Dr. Amanda Duffy of VCA South Shore Animal Hospital noted that the dog had no muscle mass or fat.

Larry Tipton, Czerkawski's attorney, denied that his client hurt anyone.

Czerkawski is currently serving three to five years in prison for stealing $130,000 from the elderly woman he was hired to take care of and another three to five years for taking $4,500 from St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in New Bedford, where he had stayed for several months in 2012.

The trial resumes Monday.

Image Credit: Greg Derr/The Quincy Patriot Ledger via AP Images, Pool