Two dogs tortured and killed - Chesapeake, VA

Sunday, Jul 31, 2005

County: Chesapeake City

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Jonathan Swanson

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Two family pets, Spike and Pootie were tortured and killed. The owner of the two shih tzus told local media, she believed her estranged husband Jonathan Swanson was responsible.

"I believe he got angry and put them into a garbage bag. I believe he put water in the bag and when that didn't kill them he began to bang them around in a suitcase because you could see suitcase markings all over the bathroom," she said.

She asked us to only refer to her as Mrs. Swanson because she was afraid her estranged husband would get out of jail and do her harm.

But she did want justice for her dogs and now the Chesapeake Commonwealth's Attorney's office agrees that she should get it.

Jonathan Swanson has been indicted on two counts of felony animal cruelty and could spend the next decade behind bars.

He declined our request for a television interview, but in court papers he admitted to putting the dogs in the suitcase. But said they were still alive.

Swanson is currently being held on several other charges at the Chesapeake correction center including abduction, abuse of a family member and simple assault of a police officer.

He's scheduled to face the felony animal cruelty charges in November.

Case Updates

The attorney for Jonathan Swanson, a former Chesapeake man accused of killing his estranged wife's two dogs, has asked that animal cruelty cases against his client be dropped. Swanson, now an Alabama resident, faces two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty for the May 2006 abuse of two Shih Tzus - Spike and Pootie. Swanson, 33, was scheduled to stand trial Friday in Chesapeake Circuit Court, but prosecutors said the dogs' owner is out of the country working and will not be back until next summer. Prosecutors sought to have the charges against Swanson withdrawn Friday so they could be refiled when his estranged wife was available for trial. James Broccoletti, Swanson's attorney, objected, arguing that his client has appeared in court at least three times to face the charges only to have the case withdrawn or continued. Broccoletti asked that the cases be dismissed. A visiting judge will take the matter under consideration before ruling. The two dogs were allegedly abused after a 2006 domestic dispute between Swanson and his wife at their Western Branch apartment complex in the 3500 block of Dunedin Drive. Afterward, the dog s' owner asked police to check on her dogs, ages 4 and 2. They could not be found at the apartment. Days later, the dogs were discovered dead in a suitcase in a storage unit on Portsmouth Boulevard. A smell had attracted attention to the storage unit. Swanson was convicted in the domestic violence case. He was sentenced earlier this year to a 12-month suspended sentence for assault on a family member and a year for abduction and kidnapping, according to court records. Original felony animal cruelty charges against him were withdrawn in April and refiled as misdemeanors in July. His Sept. 27 trial on animal cruelty charges was continued to Friday.

Source: The Virginian-Pilot - Oct 13, 2007 Update posted on Oct 14, 2007 - 12:18AM

References

• WTKR - Sept 7, 2006

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