Cat beaten to death
York, ME (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Apr 10, 2007
County: York
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Richard M. Dalli
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
York resident Richard M. Dalli, 48, of 90 Rogers Road, was charged with animal cruelty after police found a cat they say was murdered at his residence.
The cat had been killed with a blunt object, said Sgt. Thomas Baran.
Animal control officer Tom Porter said Dalli confessed he "thought he killed two cats," but only one was found at his home.
Dalli was at York Hospital when he revealed that he had killed the cat and gave police permission to search the residence, Baran said.
Porter found the dead cat in the residence and took possession of a pet Cockapoo, which was unharmed. The dog was brought to Creative Comforts animal shelter in Kittery, and now is residing with a friend of the family.
Dalli faces a fine of anywhere from $500 to $2,500, Porter said, but will not serve jail time.
Porter also said Dalli's mother died in March and he has been emotionally unstable.
"I don't know if he knows what happened," Porter said.
Case UpdatesPolice have charged a York man with murder in connection with the stabbing death of a 39-year-old man that was reported at 3:36 a.m. Tuesday at a house on Rogers Road.
Richard Dalli, 50, of 90 Rogers Road, was taken into custody at his home shortly after York Police were called to the house. Dalli was questioned by state and York police at the York Police Department and charged with murder early Tuesday afternoon. He was taken to the York County Jail in Alfred and will likely appear in York Superior Court Wednesday.
The victim was identified as John Wheeler, 39, of Wells.
Wheeler was taken by ambulance to York Hospital where he died shortly after arrival. Police said an autopsy by the Maine State Medical Examiner's Office showed he died of a stab wound to the chest and ruled the death a homicide.
Police said Dalli and Wheeler had known each other for the past decade. They said Dalli worked for a local cleaning company and Wheeler was a carpenter.
York Police Chief Douglas Bracy said the community has "nothing to fear," and the incident was "pretty cut and dried."
State Police Lt. Brian McDonough said between three and five people "of a mixture of ages" were at the residence at the time of the stabbing.
According to neighbors in the largely seasonal neighborhood off of Ridge Road, police were often called to the house for reports of parties, which Bracy confirmed. Asked about York being a quiet town, he said, "We're like any community where there's drug abuse."
Ella O'Hare, who lives across the street from the house, said Dalli was "alright when he's OK." She declined to elaborate, but did say that police were called to the house "many, many, many times."
"He was not a very nice person," she said. "He was nice to us, I can say that."
Neighbor Mary Rieger, a seasonal resident, said she was awakened sometime during the night when she "heard a person yell" in the vicinity of 90 Rogers Road. She said she didn't think much about it until she saw police arrive. Even then, she was not shocked because police had been called to the house on a number of occasions, she said.
"I think he was troubled," said Rieger. "I knew he had problems."
Dalli was arrested in April 2007 by York police on a charge of animal cruelty. Police allege he killed a cat with a blunt object. According to reports at the time, Dalli had confessed to the crime, and the cat was found in the house by police. A dog was found unharmed.
The incident happened a month after the death of Dalli's mother, Katherine, in March 2007, who had lived in the house. | Source: Sea Coast Online - Sept 2, 2008
Update posted on Sep 2, 2008 - 11:34PM |
References |
