Puppy Doe Trial: Guilty Verdict Issued

DEDHAM, MA — A Polish national has been found guilty of torturing a dog to death. Radoslaw Czerkawski, the defendant in the Puppy Doe trial, was found guilty of all 12 animal cruelty charges, but not guilty of witness intimidation.

“The Quincy Police Department took this case very seriously from the onset,” District Attorney Morrissey said in a release. “Law enforcement at every level needs to treat animal cruelty cases as the serious crimes that they are. The Quincy Police Department’s work in this investigation laid the foundation for this just verdict. I also recognize that Assistant District Attorneys Greg Connor, Tracey Cusick and Stephanie Glennon did outstanding work presenting this case to the jury.”

Authorities say Czerkawski bought the young pit bull on Craigslist in June 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.

Connor told jurors during opening statements that the dog suffered five skull fractures, seven crushing injuries to her spine, two broken ribs, a broken femur, and a sliced tongue.

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 verdict was welcomed news for animal advocates, including Kara Holmquist, director of advocacy for the MSPCA-Angell.

“Today’s verdict underscores the strong cruelty case brought by the Norfolk District Attorney, and we hope the sentencing is commensurate with the suffering endured by Puppy Doe. With increasing attention to animal cruelty issues, we look forward to the legislature’s action on S. 2347 (PAWS II – Protecting Animal Welfare and Safety), a bill that would further strengthen the Commonwealth’s anti-cruelty laws and that passed the Senate just over a week ago. Passage of this bill by the House, and signature by the Governor, will help ensure other animals never endure what Puppy Doe suffered," Holmquist said through a statement.

Sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday.

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