AR-News: (US) Women charged in drowning dachshund plead not guilty

[Snugglezzz at aol.com]

Women charged in killing dog plead not guilty 
By Nancy Cicco 
ncicco at seacoastonline.com 



PORTSMOUTH - The two Seacoast-area women accused of drowning a miniature dachshund say they are innocent of that charge. 

While their case will ultimately be weighed in the scales of justice, they also face the wrath of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 

Daniel Paden, a cruelty caseworker with PETA, is asking that defendants Shannon C. Walters, 34, of Newmarket, and Erin M. Wylie, 27, of Portsmouth, undergo psychological evaluations and mandatory counseling - in addition to serving jail time - should the women be convicted in the case. 

"Because repeat crimes are the rule rather than the exception among animal abusers, and given the malicious and supremely idiotic nature of their alleged actions, we implore you to take every measure necessary to ensure that both are barred from all future contact with animals," Paden wrote in a June 18 letter to Rockingham County prosecutor Mark Osborne. 

Mental-health professionals and police, Paden noted, "consider cruelty to animals a red flag." 

"The American Psychiatric Association identifies animal abuse as one of the diagnostic criteria for conduct disorders, and the FBI uses reports of cruelty to animals in analyzing the threat potential of suspected and known criminals," he wrote in his letter.  Dewey 


Walters and Wylie were scheduled to be arraigned in the case on Monday in Portsmouth District Court. But through their attorneys, they have waived their rights to that court hearing and have already pleaded not guilty to felony animal-cruelty charges. 

The women also face felony charges of burglary and misdemeanor charges of receiving stolen property in the Maine court system. Walters and Wylie have yet to enter pleas on those charges. They are scheduled to be arraigned on July 29, according to clerks at Maine District Court in York, Maine. 

Police allege that Walters and Wylie staged a May 18 burglary in the Eliot, Maine, home of Patrick Collins, who was Wylie’s boyfriend at that time. 

During the phony heist, they allegedly took a camera, a computer and Dewey, Collins’ 2-year-old dog. Later, Walters allegedly drowned the dog in Wylie’s bathtub at her Portsmouth home after Wylie drew the bath, according to police. 

Kittery, Maine, police arrested both women on May 21 after discovering Dewey’s carcass in the back of Walter’s truck. Two days later the women turned themselves in to Portsmouth police after city authorities issued warrants for their arrest. 

In Maine, the women each face charges of Class C felony burglary and receiving stolen property, a Class D misdemeanor. 

In New Hampshire, Walters is charged with cruelty to animals, and Wylie is charged with being an accomplice to that act. Both of these charges are Class B felonies. 

Walters, who is represented by Portsmouth defense attorney Phil Desfosses, is scheduled for a probable-cause hearing at 8:30 a.m. on July 6 in Portsmouth District Court. A probable-cause hearing for Wylie has yet to be scheduled, according to a clerk at the court. Wylie is represented by defense lawyer Patricia Wiberg of Dover. 

At a probable-cause hearing, the judge determines whether enough evidence exists to move ahead with the case. 

On Friday, Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams said law-enforcement officials continue to investigate the case. 

Both women are out on bail. If convicted on the cruelty to animals charges, both Walters and Wylie could spend from 3½ to 7 years in prison. If convicted on the burglary charge in Maine, they each could serve as much as five years in prison. Also, the charge of receiving stolen property carries a jail sentence of up to a year.