Editor's note: Details in this article may be disturbing to some readers.
A man has been charged in the brutal killing of his roommate's dog last year at a Dracut, Massachusetts, home, police said Wednesday.
Anthony Segnini, 36, was arrested in December and indicted by a grand jury last month in the death of the 8-lb. Yorkshire Terrier at a home on Sunset Road, Dracut police said.
The bloodied, feces-covered dog was found unresponsive at the home by its owner Dec. 11, 2023, when she returned from work. She took the pet to Wignall Animal Hospital, where it was pronounced dead.
The dog was seriously injured, with broken ribs, collapsed lungs and blunt-force trauma to its head, according to police, who investigated the manner of the dog's death.
Investigators identified Segnini as the person who injured the dog, police said. He was the roommate of its owner.
Segnini appeared in Middlesex Superior Court Thursday on the animal cruelty charge, according to police. They said he was released without bail but with conditions, including that he not contact the dog's owner and keep no animals himself.
It wasn't immediately clear if Segnini had an attorney who could speak to the charge. He's due back in court Nov. 21.
