Auburn Man Charged With Killing Girlfriend's Dog
AUBURN (CBS) - Investigators say an Auburn man killed his live-in girlfriend's dog, beating the animal to death. Currently, the suspect is behind bars on animal cruelty charges, but the accusations against him do not stop there.
Tabitha Taylor was in court Wednesday filing a restraining order against her now ex-boyfriend Greg Fargnoli.
"I feel like I misjudged his character," Taylor said. "We actually met online."
On Tuesday, Taylor and her boyfriend's roommate returned to their Auburn home to find Fargnoli asleep and her 12-year-old dog Pokadot kicked, beaten, and stabbed to death with a broken broom handle.
"He got frustrated with the dog and he beat it to death," says the suspect's roommate Evan Wronski. "He kicked it, its ribs were broken, and it had no teeth left in its mouth."
Wronski called the police. When one of the officers asked what happened to the dog, Fargnoli allegedly claimed he had silenced the dog. But the animal cruelty charges became just a part of the picture after Taylor confided in officers that her boyfriend choked her almost to the point of unconsciousness during a drunken argument last week.
"I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it because I never thought he would be capable of anything like this," says Taylor.
Fargnoli had several gun charges added when police found a pistol in his possession with the serial number filed off. His attorney Walter Rojcewicz claims Fargnoli has a clean record and is, "very remorseful and very upset about what happened."
Just not as upset as Taylor, who moved to Auburn from Louisiana to live with her online boyfriend only to see him charged with slaughtering her beloved pet.
Fargnoli will be behind bars until Tuesday when a judge will decide if he is too dangerous for bail.