Michael Konschak: Hunter who killed and skinned Connecticut woman's two pet German shepherds thought they were coyotes
DANBURY, CONNECTICUT: A hunter who killed, skinned, and beheaded two pet dogs in Connecticut told authorities that he thought they were two coyotes. Appearing in Danbury Superior Court on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, Michael Konschak, 61, of Carmel, New York, who is facing criminal charges, said that he is ashamed of his doing. "Please know that it was never my intent that morning to harm the victims' pets," he said during the hearing. Notably, hunting and trapping of coyotes is legal in Connecticut.
Police with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection arrested Konschak in February on charges, including evidence tampering, forgery, interfering with a law enforcement officer, and hunting-related violations. The case has drawn the attention of many dog owners as well as animal rights advocates who have urged authorities to add animal cruelty charges. Attorney David Applegate of Danbury State stated that the case is under investigation and more charges are possible. Konschak’s lawyer, on the other hand, called the dogs' deaths an accident and applied for a special probation program that could have led to the charges being erased. However, a judge rejected that request on Wednesday.
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Caviola's pet dogs went missing in 2022
Erin Caviola, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, reported that her two German Shepherds, Lieben, a female, and Cimo, a male, both 10 years old, went missing from her home in 2022 after they had jumped over the part of her six-foot tall fence that had been pulled down, possibly by a bear. Caviola spent weeks in search of her pet dogs in which she also received assistance from their community. "We live with the emotional pain as we think about what they felt in their final moments lying beside each other dying," she said in her victim impact statement, as per CBS News. "They loved each other so much, to picture that is heartbreaking," she added.
Was Konschak not aware the animals were dogs before skinning them?
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Konschak killed the dogs with a crossbow on November 18. Apparently, Konschak was hunting for a deer on a nearby property that borders Caviola's when he killed what he thought were two coyotes. His lawyer, Brian Romano, stated that the animals were skinned for their pelts. Attorney Applegate has noticed inconsistencies in Konschak's story and questioned how Konschak could not see that the animals were dogs before skinning them.
'A very large emotional toll on our family'
Konschak is set to appear in court next month. As per the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, "regulated hunting and trapping may be used to remove problem coyotes in areas where it is safe and legal to do so." Caviola created a Change.org petition, where she argues that Konschak "forged permission to be hunting on private property in this area" since he is a New York resident. "Their murder, skinning, and beheading has taken a very large emotional toll on our family," she said in a statement. "The violence of Cimo and Lieben's death and mutilation has caused unimaginable trauma, suffering, exhaustion and has left a black cloud over our usually happy and loving family."