Police: Brackenridge woman accused of bludgeoning dog to death with hammer in front of children
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Brackenridge police arrested a woman after her boyfriend told them she beat the family’s dog to death with a hammer in front of their children.
Bianca Simone Lee, 32, of Nelson Avenue, was arrested on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals in connection with the Jan. 23 incident, according to her arrest papers.
Lee is being detained in the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh in lieu of a $20,000 cash bond, according to court records. She faces a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 9 before District Judge Carolyn S. Bengel.
The boyfriend told police that he went out to buy some cleaning supplies shortly before 4:30 p.m. and that when he returned home he found Lee “covered in blood and the children crying and screaming,” according to a criminal complaint for the case.
The man told police that he thought Lee cut herself and took her into the kitchen to clean her up, police said.
But when he walked into the room, he found the dog had been bludgeoned to death, according to the complaint.
He took the children to his mother’s house and called police, police said.
Responding officers said Lee was “covered in blood and had a face injury” when she met them at the door, the complaint said.
Officers said they found a black pit bull-mix on the kitchen floor with a puddle of blood around its head as well as blood splatters “on the floor, cabinets, countertops, walls and ceiling,” according to the complaint.
A hammer that police believed Lee used to beat the animal to death was confiscated and arrangements were made with a state humane officer to remove the animal’s body from the home so it could be examined to determine the cause of death, police said.
Police offered to arrange counseling for the children after the man told them the incident was traumatizing to them.
Police said they also made a report through the state’s ChildLine system as well as contacting the county’s Office of Children, Youth and Families. The complaint does not identify the age or number of children who were in the house.
Investigators said Lee did not respond when they questioned her about what occurred in the home except to say: “I got the dog. I killed the dog,” the complaint said.
Lee was taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison for treatment of an undisclosed injury, police said.
A forensic necropsy performed by a veterinarian at Human Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh revealed that the dog suffered multiple open puncture wounds to the head, face and shoulder, police said.
The doctor determined that fractures to the animal’s nasal bones caused a large amount of blood to seep into its airway, causing the dog to die from suffocation, according to the complaint.