Dogs shot to death
Cisne, IL (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Dec 2, 2008
County: Wayne

Disposition: Alleged

Abuser names unreleased

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Jerry Williamson of rural Cisne wants to know who killed his three prized beagle hounds. All three were found shot to death Tuesday morning alongside U.S. 45 at the western edge of Cisne.

"Mr. Williamson had been out rabbit hunting Monday afternoon around 1:30 when the dogs spotted a deer and took off running," said detective Jonah Kinsolving of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. "He looked for them until after dark, then left their box out before retiring for the evening."

Williamson said the dogs were trained to return to their box, so he expected to find them there the next morning.

Instead, Williamson received a phone call about 7:20 a.m. Tuesday from a man identifying himself as a "highway worker," advising him that all three of his beagles had been run over and could be found along the highway on the west side of Cisne. Each dog wore tags that contained contact information in case they got lost.

Williamson drove to the scene and discovered all three of his dogs were indeed dead. However, they had not been run over.

"Two of the dogs had been shot between the eyes with what appeared to be a .22-caliber or similar weapon," Kinsolving said. "The third dog had been shot multiple times in the body and leg."

Williamson's beagle hounds were trained hunting dogs he had purchased from a breeder in Canada, and the three were valued at more than $1,000.

Police suspect the beagles may have spooked a deer that a local hunter had been stalking, triggering the killings.

At the time they were killed, Illinois's archery deer season was under way

Anyone with information about who shot Williamson's beagles is asked to phone the Wayne County CrimeStoppers hot line at (618) 842-9777. A cash reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the shooter.

Case Updates

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