Boulder County man wanted for animal cruelty after being accused of killing pit bull
Authorities out of Boulder County announced Wednesday that a warrant has been issued for a man being accused of animal cruelty after reportedly killing his dog.
A warrant has been issued for George Bernard Benyard, 28, of Boulder County for aggravated cruelty to animals and tampering with physical evidence, with both being class 6 felonies. The warrant was issued on Oct. 5, according to investigators.
The charges came from an initial investigation by the Boulder County Sheriff's Office back in September at an address in the 10800 block of Empire Road in unincorporated Boulder County.
Benyard is being accused of killing his pet dog and attempting to conceal his actions as his whereabouts remain unknown at this time.
Deputies and detectives with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office learned that Benyard had allegedly told acquaintances that the bathroom of his home was a "murder scene," and displayed a photo of a bloody bathroom, and described of killing someone at his home on Empire Road, along with soliciting help in disposing of the body, according to the sheriff's office.
Boulder County SWAT executed a search warrant on the home and believe that with the severity of the alleged offense, Benyard had access firearms and other weapons.
Back on Sept. 18, Benyard and his wife were brought in for questioning while other investigators remained at the property to begin processing it for evidence.
The sheriff's office says while processing the scene, investigators found the body of an adult pit bull stored under a bush on the property. A necropsy revealed that the dog had been recently killed, neither by accident nor by another animal, and had suffered several traumatic injuries.
Through digital evidence, it was determined that the dog had very likely belonged to Benyard, though he denied having any knowledge of the dog's existence or how it was killed, according to the sheriff's office.
Benyard reportedly had three other dogs in the home that were placed into protective custody at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley on Sept. 18 during the initial search of his home.
