He Strangled a Beloved Bulldog — Then Scattered Dog's Remains Around Town: 'Sickening Beyond Comprehension'
Benjamin Tyler, 40, pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty after strangling and dismembering a pure-bred English bulldog
Tyler had been staying at the home of Bruno's owner when the incident occurred
He faces up to one year in jailA Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to killing and dismembering an English bulldog named Bruno.
The Westchester County District Attorney's Office said in a statement that Benjamin Tyler, 40, pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals and an unclassified felony for killing the dog.
Prosecutors say that in December 2024, Tyler strangled Bruno to death at the dog's New Rochelle home. According to the statement, Tyler was a longtime acquaintance of Bruno's owner and had been staying at the home.
Tyler then dismembered Bruno and spread pieces of his body around New Rochelle, per the statement.'The defendant's conduct in this case is sickening beyond comprehension,' said Susan Cacace, Westchester County District Attorney. 'He will soon have time to reflect on the depravity of his actions from the Westchester County Jail."
She continued, "Cruelty to animals will never be tolerated under my administration.'
Tyler is expected to be sentenced on Sept. 8, at which time he faces the possibility of spending up to a year in jail.
Read the original article on People
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Father-to-Be, 19, Killed by Falling Tree Limb: 'A Smile That Would Just Melt Your Heart'
A 19-year-old soon-to-be-father and former high school football star has died after he was struck by a tree branch The El Paso County Sheriff's Office said that 19-year-old Aiden Hernandez, of Woodland Park, Colo., died on May 29, following the work incident The former football player was set to welcome his first child with his longtime girlfriend in JulyA 19-year-old soon-to-be-father and former high school football star in Colorado has died after he was struck by a tree branch, local authorities say. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office confirmed to local outlet KRDO that 19-year-old Aiden Hernandez, of Woodland Park, Colo., died Thursday, May 29. Deputies were called to the scene after a work accident in Colorado Springs, about 70 miles south of Denver, just before 10 a.m. local time on May 29. Although they administered CPR, Hernandez was pronounced dead on the scene, the Sheriff's Office told the outlet. Members of the local community have spoken out about Hernandez's death. The soon-to-be-dad was a well-known high school football player and was described in his obituary as "a talented athlete" who was "known on the football field as 'The Beast,' a nickname earned through his passion, strength, and dedication to the game." "Incredible young man, great energy, A smile that would just melt your heart. Very intense. Very driven young man, even from an early age," the teen's former football coach, Chad Drummond, told KRDO. "It dropped me to the floor," Drummond said of the 19-year-old's death. "I don't know if I've still accepted it." The El Paso County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for further information. Hernandez was expecting his first child, a boy to be named Zion, with his longtime girlfriend this summer. "He was preparing to be an incredible father and partner, ready to build a beautiful life full of love, adventure, and devotion," his obituary states. In his final Facebook post shared just hours before his death, Hernandez wrote: "I have no words for how much I love this woman, and for what we have coming! I'm forever grateful and I count the days down till we can meet little Zi." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Drummond told KRDO that his family was extremely close-knit. "If he had an event, everyone was there. If someone else in the family had an event, they were all there," Drummond said. "They supported each other from morning to night, which is why my heart breaks for this family. It is absolutely a catastrophic loss." The 19-year-old's family shared in his obituary that he "lived life to the fullest." "Whether he was jumping off cliffs, climbing mountains on camping trips, or swimming across Pueblo Reservoir, he approached every adventure with a fearless heart and a bright smile," the obituary adds. "Even during difficult times, Aiden's focus was always on lifting others and making the most of every moment." A celebration of life is set to be held on Sunday, June 7. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hopes of closure fade as police wrap up Madeleine McCann search
From the moment I arrived in Praia da Luz on Monday the word on everyone's lips was "closure". All the long-term residents of the sleepy Atlantic resort told me closure was what they were hoping for. From the English woman who lived at the time above the apartment from which Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007, to the former neighbour of the main suspect in the case. They all said: "We hope her family get closure". Of course, any chance of a really positive outcome disappeared years ago. Closure now would mean either finding Madeleine McCann's body, or finding her living with another family, unable to remember her parents or her younger twin siblings. But, frustrated as residents are when the world's media return to Praia da Luz - year after year at the same time that purple flowers appear on the jacaranda trees - they do understand the unbearable pain that Kate and Gerry McCann must feel. How that shock of realisation that Madeleine was not in her bed turned into minutes, then hours, and then days of panic. Then tortuous, unending months and years of uncertainty. For 13 years there was no single theory as to what happened to Madeleine McCann. Did she wake up in the middle of an opportunistic burglary and have to be silenced? Was she abducted on behalf of a couple desperate for a child of their own? Had her own parents covered up her accidental death? (A theory given sufficient weight by Portuguese prosecutors that for a while Kate and Gerry McCann were officially under suspicion.) The initial Portuguese investigation failed to preserve the scene adequately, so the opportunity to gather forensic evidence from Madeline McCann's room at the Ocean Club was lost. Long-term residents remember joining in uncoordinated and ad-hoc searches of the town. The Metropolitan Police investigation that began in 2011 built to a peak in 2014, with substantial searches near Praia da Luz - but they did not appear to have any identifiable suspects. They had 60 people of interest, 38 of whom they were investigating. Portuguese prosecutors had allowed them to search only one of three sites they had asked for access to. Everything changed in June 2020 when, out of the blue, the head prosecutor in Braunschweig in Germany, Hans Christian Wolters, said he had evidence that Madeleine McCann was dead. Working with the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), the German equivalent of the FBI, he said he had identified a suspect, later identified as Christian Brückner. "The evidence is strong enough to say that the girl is dead, and to accuse a specific individual of murder," Hans Christian Wolter said. Brückner, who spent many years of his life in the Algarve, was a drifter, a petty criminal and a convicted sex offender. It all fitted neatly into place and it seemed that the mystery might finally be solved. Brückner's long list of previous convictions includes ones for sexually abusing children in 1994 and 2016. The Braunschweig prosecution team have never disclosed the extent of any evidence they have, but we do know their suspicions are partly based on a conversation an old acquaintance of Brückner's claims they had at a festival in 2008. Helge Busching says the topic of Madeleine McCann's disappearance came up, and Brückner said she "didn't scream". Mr Busching says it was clear to him what Brückner meant. Since 2019, Brückner has been in prison in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. But he is due for release in September, or in January if he does not pay an outstanding fine. Brückner told an RTL reporter earlier this year that he was looking forward to a "decent steak and a beer". The concern is that he will leave the country and head somewhere with no extradition treaty with Germany, though he appears to have no money. The Braunschweig prosecutors' confidence was dealt a severe blow last year when they put Brückner on trial for rape and unconnected attempted child abductions. Mr Busching gave evidence, but the court in Braunschweig acquitted Brückner and suddenly time was very short. Mr Wolters has made no secret of the fact that he wants more evidence to charge Brückner. That is why the BKA footed the bill for the search this week in ruined farm buildings on merciless, shadeless scrubland in the rising heat of an Algarve summer. The buildings are frequented at night by the kind of drifters and petty criminals that Brückner once was. Nearby residents told us they sometimes find looted suitcases among the ruins that have been stolen from holidaymakers. But this week's searches were not targeted on one specific building, so any intelligence they were based on was clearly quite vague. It all felt a bit like a last desperate attempt to back Mr Busching's statements with concrete, physical evidence. In some ways this search was similar to those I have seen on previous trips. The use of shovels in the heat, digging up stone-hard ground. But the German team were mostly targeting old farm buildings. This meant they needed a large, yellow mechanical digger to break up the concrete floors and sift through the resulting rubble. They also made extensive use of a ground-penetrating radar, slowly pushing the device across the buildings' floors, looking for anomalies and cavities underneath. The Portuguese fire brigade helped on the first day, pumping out an old well so it could be safely searched. The officers were looking for traces of Madeleine McCann, or some of her clothing. Every time I travel to Portugal for a new search it always begins optimistically. Could police find something this time? But on every occasion it quickly becomes apparent the searches are not tightly targeted. The police work always clearly based on quite vague intelligence - or just an investigator's hunch. Luis Neves, the National Director of the Polícia Judiciária, the Portuguese equivalent of the FBI, said at the end of the week that, "nothing is in vain, not least because doors are being closed". As we watched the German detectives packing away it felt like the spring of hope of a resolution that had bubbled up in June 2020 was evaporating in the thankless heat. Diggers brought in to help latest Madeleine McCann search in Portugal Madeleine McCann search goes on but is it 18 years too late? Madeleine McCann disappearance: A timeline
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Harvey Weinstein Doubles Down On Innocence Anthem Ahead Of Retrial Verdict
Harvey Weinstein is standing on business concerning his innocence. The film producer insists he might have been an extremely sexually expressive person, but never did he forcefully have his way with someone of the opposite sex, as his accusers have alleged. Harvey Weinstein was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape in his 2020 trial, receiving a 23-year sentence. Weinstein recently spoke out during the jury's deliberations in his rape retrial, expressing "regrets" about his immoral behavior while maintaining his claim of innocence. In a phone interview conducted at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital, where he is receiving medical treatment, Weinstein reiterated familiar lines he has used in the past. This interview took place on Thursday with "Good Day New York" host Rosanna Scotto, highlighting his ongoing legal situation while he continues to address various health issues while in custody. The disgraced Hollywood film mogul expressed his regrets about the impact of his actions on his family and friends. He acknowledged the emotional pain he caused his wife and others close to him, describing his behavior as immoral and foolish. Yet, he maintained that he never engaged in anything illegal or criminal. As the jury in his Manhattan retrial for rape and a criminal sexual act began their deliberations after six weeks of testimony, TMZ shared that he admitted to feeling "nervous" about the upcoming verdict. As noted by PEOPLE, Combs and Weinstein have now both been accused of sexual assault by model Crystal McKinney. McKinney, in an amended complaint filed against Weinstein on May 30, alleged that Weinstein raped her and a friend in 2003. McKinney had previously filed a lawsuit in 2024, accusing Combs of drugging and sexually assaulting her. In McKinney's new complaint, she allegedly received a call from an unnamed executive at a modeling agency who arranged a business meeting with Weinstein at a popular lounge in the West Village. McKinney explained that she took a fellow model and roommate with her, hoping that Weinstein might also consider her for an acting role. After waiting at the lounge, they were eventually directed to Weinstein's table. It was there that McKinney noted Weinstein expressed a desire to get to know them better, suggesting they move their meeting to his place, as he deemed the lounge "too loud and crowded" for a discussion about potential acting opportunities. Upon returning to their hotel room, McKinney alleges in her complaint that the film producer excessively provided alcohol, serving multiple bottles of Boulevardier and Dom Pérignon, along with vodka cocktails. She claims that during this incident, Weinstein inappropriately touched her by grabbing her breasts and tearing at her tank top, causing drinks to spill onto her shirt and prompting a quick trip to the bathroom. In her complaint, she stated that her friend had accompanied her when Weinstein entered the bathroom uninvited. He allegedly demanded that the two women strip and join him in the bathtub, where he then exposed himself. McKinney and her friend felt coerced and complied with his demands, fearing retaliation if they resisted his advances. The model further recounted an incident involving Weinstein, where she alleged that he coerced her and her friend into engaging in sexual acts in a bathtub before forcibly dragging them to the bed. She accused him of raping both women and leaving the hotel room abruptly afterward. McKinney described herself as feeling disgusted and frightened at Weinstein's actions and emphasized that she had been heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident. Afterward, she claimed that when she reported the assault to Weinstein's assistant over the phone, instead of addressing her concerns, the assistant instructed her to leave the hotel room immediately. Following this traumatic experience, McKinney reported suffering from a range of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, anger, self-blame, suicidal thoughts, body image problems, and a sense of demoralization. Since he resumed serving time at the correctional facility, the producer has been exposed to a plethora of illnesses. As noted by The Blast in April, his legal team said that he was battling cancer and diabetes alongside severe coronary artery disease that caused chest pain from reduced blood flow to the heart. He also reportedly struggled with obstructive sleep apnea, thyroid problems, obesity, chronic pain in his lower back and legs, anemia, and hypertension, among other ailments. Some of these illnesses did not happen overnight or on their own; according to his attorney, his living conditions at Rikers Prison did damage to his health. Weinstein reportedly had to survive under freezing temperatures and was made to wear dirty clothes. All this worsened his already failing health, making him susceptible to COVID-19 and double pneumonia. The producer also had to undergo critical surgery to address a fluid buildup in his heart and lungs. His lawyer, Imran Ansari, criticized New York City officials for contributing to his client's suffering. Ansari revealed that he had made multiple attempts to have Weinstein transferred from Rikers Island to Bellevue Hospital, but city officials consistently ignored those requests. He emphasized that this transfer was vital for Weinstein's health, asserting that it could potentially save his life and prevent premature death. The convicted sex offender's attorney also demanded a monetary settlement for their troubles. As noted by The Blast, Weinstein and his attorney requested a $5 million settlement from Bellevue Hospital, which has treated Weinstein multiple times in 2024, including a stay in the ICU. Despite their previous care, Weinstein criticized the hospital for releasing him back to prison before he had fully recovered. His compensation claim extends beyond the hospital; he also demanded remuneration from the City of New York and its agencies. Weinstein alleged that he had suffered both physically and psychologically due to "horrific" treatment and adverse health conditions while incarcerated. His lawyers argued that the prison had severely mismanaged his health and failed to provide optimum medical care. What verdict awaits Harvey Weinstein in his retrial?
