Dog beaten to death with baseball bat
Oak Lawn, IL (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Sep 15, 2006
County: Cook

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Dariusz Szot

Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

An Oak Lawn man has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals for allegedly bludgeoning his dog to death with a baseball bat and then trying to bury the dog in his yard.

Police said Dariusz Szot, 31, admitted he beat the 1-year-old cocker spaniel after the dog bit a man on the hand during playful wrestling in Szot's back yard in the 5700 block of West 88th Street. Szot told the arresting officer he became enraged about the bite and dragged the dog into his garage and killed it, police said.

Several people in the vicinity phoned police after they heard the dog repeatedly yelping shortly after 3 a.m. on Sept. 15, according to the police report. One witness also reported hearing the sound of digging coming from the back yard.

Szot's friend, a 37-year-old Pennsylvania man, showed police a minor cut on the thumb of his left hand. The man, who was not charged, told police he did not know Szot intended to beat the dog and found out about it after he came out of the house and saw Szot digging a grave, officials said.

Police Chief Bill Villanova commended officers who "recognized the seriousness of the situation, took the initiative to investigate and determined that felony charges applied.

"This was an egregious attack on a helpless puppy, and we hope he gets what he deserves," Villanova said.

The abuse charge against Szot is a felony with a possible sentence of up to 3 years in prison. Bail was set at $50,000 and he is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Oct. 3 in the Bridgeview Courthouse.

In a case last year, Marc Czernik, 41, of Peotone was sentenced to 15 months after he killed a neighbor's 6-month-old cocker spaniel puppy when he threw her into a pen with his pit bull and another large aggressive dog. Czernik pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty and was sentenced after a Will County judge rejected defense attorneys' requests to grant probation.

Oak Forest Animal Control Officer Lin Marcado hopes to generate publicity about the Oak Lawn case and increase awareness.

"The man who committed this heinous crime does not deserve to remain anonymous. His name and face should be publicized, especially to those in shelters, pet shops, breeding and rescue fields, so he is never able to purchase or adopt another pet."

Marcado and a member of the Oak Forest-based animal rescue group SAFE [Saving Animals From Euthanasia] Project began posting information on the group's Internet site and sending out e-mails regarding Szot's arrest. The group is encouraging people to show up at hearings to follow the progress of the case and to report animal abuse.

"The fact that those witnesses called in when they heard this dog in distress is admirable," Marcado said. "This poor animal suffered unimaginable pain, and we don't even know what the puppy's name was."

Case Updates

References

• Chicago Tribune - Sept 26, 2006

• Daily Southerner - Oct 1, 2006

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