Christopher Kratz� 18� formerly of Green Street and currently residing in Douglassville allegedly killed a pit bull puppy inside his Green Street apartment in late November and then buried it in the backyard� police said.
Lansdale police had been tipped off about the incident. Detective Justin DiBonaventura found the dead puppy in a shallow grave in the backyard� police said. A veterinarian who examined the animal determined that the puppy had died from brain trauma after the skull had been cracked open� police said.
Kratz was arrested December 19, 2005 and charged with animal cruelty� tampering with evidence and disorderly conduct� police said. He was released on 10 percent of $5�000 bail.
A preliminary hearing before District Justice Harold Borek is set for 12:30 p.m. Jan. 19, 2006. Case Updates| Posted on Jan 28, 2006 - 3:34AM | Suspect says, �I messed up�. Waiting for his preliminary hearing to begin on January 26, 2006, Chris Kratz started talking. �I apologize to all of you. I messed up.� Kratz said to the animal rights activists and reporters gathered at the district court. The 18-year-old Douglassville man is accused of smashing his 6-week-old pit bull puppy onto the floor inside his girlfriend�s Green Street apartment and then burying its dead body in the backyard. But that wasn�t the only problem facing Kratz. His counsel was not going to show up for his hearing. �My lawyer�s sick,� Kratz said. Inside the courtroom, District Judge Harold Borek told Kratz his office received a letter that morning from the office of Kratz�s attorney indicating that the attorney had the flu and would be unavailable for the hearing. �This was the first notice that he was representing you,� Borek said to Kratz. Asked if he had paid the attorney a retainer, Kratz replied �I was supposed to pay him today.� But with the approval of the prosecution, which had called two witnesses, Borek did in the end grant Kratz a continuance. �This court is highly distressed over this action,� Borek said. �I can assure you this case will not be continued again.�
Outside the district court, Kratz explained what had happened that evening. He said he had gotten into a heated argument with his
girlfriend. �My father told me never put my hands on a woman,� Kratz said. When his girlfriend left the room, however, he said he
put his hands on something else and smashed it to the ground. �I thought it was a stuffed animal and then I looked at the ground, it was a dog, my dog,� Kratz said, noting that his girlfriend had a lot of stuffed animals around her room. After I saw the puppy, I started crying,� he said.
Lansdale Police Detective Justin DiBonaventura allegedly found the dead puppy buried in a shallow grave in the backyard. A veterinarian who examined the animal determined that the puppy had died from brain trauma after the skull had been cracked open.
�I got my life back together now,� Kratz said. I�m going to college in March 2006, starting my job on January 27, 2006.� Kratz said he will be studying criminal justice at Montgomery Country Community College. | | Source: The Reporter - January 20, 2006 |
| Posted on Jan 22, 2006 - 10:43PM | | A witness who attended the January 19, 2006 hearing states that, due to Kratz's attorney not being in court, the hearing has been rescheduled for a future date in March 2006. |
| Posted on Jan 14, 2006 - 10:34PM | | A preliminary hearing before District Justice Harold Borek is set for 12:30 p.m. Jan. 19, 2006 | | Source: The Reporter - December 22, 2005 |
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