Animal Abuse: Rottweiler choked to death with wire noose - Canberra, ACT

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Case ID: 17633

Classification: Choking / Strangulation / Suffocation, Hanging

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Attorneys/Judges

Judge(s):

Richard Refshauge, Lorraine Walker

Rottweiler choked to death with wire noose
Canberra, ACT (AU)

Incident Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Dusko Culibrk

Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

ACT Policing has arrested and charged 25 year old Dusko Culibrk with aggravated cruelty to an animal and two further counts of cruelty to animals after making a gruesome discovery early this morning (Tuesday 11 May) at a premises in Nicholls.

About 2:05am police located a deceased female Rottweiler dog which appeared to have been subjected to serious cruelty at the Nicholls premises.

Police also located another two dogs in the rear yard of the premises, one male Rottweiler and a cross-breed. The Rottweiler had signs of injury. Both animals were seized by Police members.

AFP Forensic Services attended and conducted an examination of the crime scene.

Police told the ACT Magistrates Court, they found Culibrk's father asleep in a car in the driveway when they arrived.

Police say he told them he was not sleeping inside the house because his son was violent.

A forensic mental health officer told the court, her records showed the 25-year-old had previously injured his mother with a knife.

The man initially fled the scene in a vehicle, however returned to the premises around 3:05am where he was arrested and conveyed to the ACT Watch House. The man will appear in the ACT Magistrates Court today (11 May).

Police would urge anyone who may have witnessed animal cruelty to contact the RSPCA on 1300 477 722 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers website on

Case Updates

A police officer has told a court of the revolting smell in a house where he found a dead dog in a pool of blood on the kitchen counter.

Acting Sergeant Simon Miller told the ACT Magistrates Court yesterday that feces were strewn over the floor of the Nicholls home and the Rottweiler was lying on the bench under some clothing.

Dusko Culibrk, 26, is accused of torturing the dog to death in May last year and abusing two other dogs who were found at the home he shared with his parents.

He has pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty charges and represented himself after his lawyer withdrew from the case yesterday.

The court has heard he has mental health issues.

Acting Sergeant Miller said he was called to the house at about 1am on May 11, 2010, after a report of a dog being killed. He said he found Culibrk's father asleep in a van outside and the man told him he was there because he was afraid of his son.

The officer said he and his partner entered the backyard and found a male Rottweiler covered in feces and tied up. A third dog was running free but was also dirty.

Inside the house, he said, the floor was covered with dog feces and a dead female Rottweiler lay on the kitchen counter in a puddle of blood, covered by a tracksuit top and some shorts.

The dog's muzzle was bleeding and had scars and ligature marks as though it had been tied shut.

Culibrk was arrested several hours later and the animals were removed by rangers.

The man's parents maintained they were the dogs' owners and had repeatedly approached the RSPCA to reclaim the two living dogs. Asked by Magistrate Grant Lalor why police believed Culibrk was responsible for the dogs, Acting Sergeant Miller said the man's sister had called triple-0 and said her brother killed the dog.

But Culibrk told the court his sister had been overseas and could not have made the call.

The case continues today.

Source: canberratimes.com.au - Sep 27, 2011
Update posted on Sep 26, 2011 - 6:31PM

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A magistrate has rejected claims the case against a man accused of torturing his dog to death should be dismissed because of mental impairment.

Magistrate Lorraine Walker said yesterday while there was ''clearly something wrong'' with Dusko Culibrk it would be inappropriate to dismiss the charges of animal cruelty.

Culibrk was arrested in May last year after police found a dead rottweiler lying in a pool of blood among the dirty dishes on the man's kitchen bench.

Two other dogs were also found covered in faeces in the backyard of the Nicholls home, and investigators found a make-shift wire noose lying on the ground.

It is alleged the dead dog bore scars consistent with being tightly muzzled, and extensive scarring on its legs.

The 26-year-old's lawyer applied to have the charges dropped, arguing Culibrk should be placed in the care of the territory's mental health authorities. The defence has tendered a psychiatric report suggesting Culibrk suffers from a schizo-affective personality disorder and is prone to psychotic episodes in times of great stress.

But the ACT Magistrates Court heard yesterday the condition was effectively untreatable, other than by injections to control bouts of psychosis, and would likely afflict Culibrk for the rest of his life.

Ms Walker rejected the application because of ''the serious nature of the offences'' and ''because Mr Culibrk needs to know there are rules and know in black and white what those rules are''.

Culibrk is facing two charges of cruelty to animals and one count of aggravated cruelty. The more serious offence carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail. But Ms Walker said the alleged offences were serious incidents.

She said she was satisfied ''there is a significant risk of further harm, more likely to others than to himself''.

Culibrk's lawyer said he would defend the charges. Culibrk spent about 120 days in custody before being released on bail in the ACT Supreme Court last September. Justice Richard Refshauge granted Culibrk bail on the condition he live at an orthodox Serbian monastery on a NSW farm.

Source: canberratimes.com.au - Mar 29, 2011
Update posted on Mar 28, 2011 - 4:16PM

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A man accused of torturing his dog to death told a psychiatrist he didn't want to kill the animal but just wanted to stop it squealing, a court has heard.

Dusko Culibrk's lawyer has sought to have animal cruelty charges against the 26-year-old dismissed and his client placed in the care of mental health authorities.

The ACT Magistrates Court yesterday heard a psychiatrist diagnosed Culibrk with schizotypal personality disorder, and that the defendant suffered delusions about UFOs and magic.

The defendant told the doctor he was concerned about the dogs squealing and annoying the neighbours but he never intended to kill the female rottweiler found on his kitchen bench.

But the Mental Health Tribunal earlier this month revoked a psychiatric treatment order placed over the Nicholls man last September.

Culibrk's defence lawyer yesterday urged Magistrate Lorraine Walker ''not to jump on the bandwagon that if you hurt animals you're going to be a psycho killer''.

The accused man is charged with two counts of cruelty to animals and one charge of aggravated cruelty to an animal causing death.

He was arrested in May after police were tipped off about a dog being killed at a home in Nicholls.

When investigators arrived on the scene, they allegedly found two living dogs in the backyard covered in faeces and dirt and a large pool of what appeared to be blood.

Inside the home, they allegedly found the dead rottweiler on a bench.

Examinations suggested the dog had been tightly muzzled, causing permanent scarring.

A search of the property found a makeshift wire noose in the courtyard and a length of rope in the kitchen.

Culibrk arrived at the home shortly after police.

He was arrested and taken to the Psychiatric Services Unit at the Canberra Hospital.

Police believe the defendant had been mistreating the animals for some time, and the prosecution warned Culibrk's behaviour could translate into violence against people.

Magistrate Walker has been asked to rule whether Culibrk should be removed from the criminal justice system and placed in the care of the Mental Health Tribunal.

The court heard he suffered a psychotic episode while in custody, triggered by the dog's death and the seizure of the two other animals by authorities.

The hearing was adjourned until later this month.

Source: canberratimes.com.au - Mar 22, 2011
Update posted on Mar 28, 2011 - 4:14PM

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A man accused of killing his pet Rottweiler and cruelty against two other dogs has been bailed to stay in an orthodox Serbian monastery on a farm in regional NSW.

Dusko Culibrk was charged after police found the body of the dead dog in the Nicholls home he shared with his parents in May. Two other dogs found at the property were taken into the care of the RSPCA after further claims of abuse.

RSPCA inspectors found a makeshift wire noose at the property and a large pool of blood.

Culibrk was granted bail in the ACT Supreme Court on condition he stay in the company of an orthodox priest before facing charges including aggravated cruelty. Part of his bail conditions are that he not have unaccompanied contact with a dog that resides at the Tallong farm.

Culibrk had been on remand at the Alexander Maconochie Centre for nearly four months after his arrest. The maximum penalty for the aggravated cruelty charge is two years in prison.

In handing down his reasons for granting bail, Justice Richard Refshauge said Culibrk had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been receiving medication which had settled his behaviour.

Justice Richard Refshauge also ordered Culibrk not to contact neighbours who made complaints to police.

He was also ordered not to intimidate, harass or assault his parents. Justice Refshauge noted Culibrk was prone to acts of violence against his parents.

Source: animalsaustralia.org - Sep 7, 2010
Update posted on Mar 28, 2011 - 4:11PM

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Rottweiler choked to death with wire nooseCanberra, ACT (AU)

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Rottweiler choked to death with wire noose
Canberra, ACT (AU)