Woman kills her dog by violently punching its head after ex-girlfriend rejects her advances: 'I punched the dog because I couldn't punch her'
A woman has been spared jail after she reportedly killed her dog by punching it to death as her ex-girlfriend rejected her advances. Twenty five-year-old Natasha Brown, of Stanley, County Durham, picked up her pet terrier and attacked it in an alcohol- and drug-fueled rage, the Sunderland Echo reports.
According to the report, despite the vets' best efforts, the poor animal was "screaming" until it went "limp and lifeless" after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Following the attack, Brown proceeded to bite her former lover, who cannot be named for legal reasons, before grabbing her by the throat and pushing over the woman's 82-year-old great uncle.
"I punched the dog because I couldn't punch my ex - I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt her," Brown told police during interrogation.
Brown had met up with her ex on October 1 to discuss the return of some items while being accompanied by her pet terrier, the South Tyneside Magistrates' Court heard. The pair had gone to the residence of her ex's great uncle in Washington, Tyne and Wear.
Brown had reportedly consumed lager and a bottle of wine when she tried to kiss and cuddle her ex, said Oriana Frame, prosecuting, before she rejected her advances and requested her to leave.
But the situation soon turned ugly.
Frame said they were in the sitting room trying to calm her down after Brown threatened to smash the great uncle's phone if he summoned the police. “Her dog was sitting on the sofa, she picked up her dog and punched it four times to the head with force," the statement continued. "It was screaming. It went limp and lifeless.”
Brown then proceeded to grab her ex by the throat and hit her head against the wall before biting her finger.
"I was trying to comfort the dog and (my great uncle) was telling her to get out and she clenched her fist and told said 'shut up or I will hit you as well'," the ex said in a statement. "Natasha pushed him in the chest causing him to fall back."
Brown's former partner somehow managed to alert the authorities, and responding officers found the dog having a fit and shaking uncontrollably. The poor animal died a short time later at the vets after they found it was suffering from a bleed in the brain and an injured leg.
As Brown sobbed throughout the court hearing, the 82-year-old great uncle said he couldn't stop the defendant owing to his age and said he was frightened at what she might have done next. "I hate myself more than anybody else could," Brown cried.
"I have no doubts at all that there is very, very deep regret," said Angus Westgarth, defending. "She is still torturing herself about what she did."
Westgarth, who revealed his client takes medication for mental health problems, said she had clearly snapped following a cocktail of medication and alcohol. "Full of alcohol, full of drugs and she just absolutely snaps," he said.
Brown was given a 24-week jail sentence, suspended for 24 months, after she pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and one of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
Furthermore, she was handed a two-year restraining order and a penalty of £85 ($110) costs, and a £122 ($157) victim surcharge.