PETITION CLOSED
PETITION TARGET: Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo
UPDATE: On January 9, 2019, County President Judge Richard A. Lewis sentenced Christopher Roberts to 11 ½ to 23 months in county prison for the slaying of Bella. Roberts will also spend 5 years on probation after he completes his prison term and must complete 500 hours of community service. In addition, Roberts was fined $1,500, and ordered to pay $875 in restitution to Bella’s family, and he is barred from living in any home with pets. Any violation of his probation will result in a 3 ½ to 7-year stay in state prison. We commend Judge Lewis judge for issuing prison time for this horrendous crime, but believe the sentence was still too light for taking the life of an innocent being.
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A man in Swatara Township, Pennsylvania kidnapped a beloved family dog named Bella, stabbed her over and over with a knife and slit her throat before dumping her on the side of the road to bleed to death.
A passerby found Bella, a nine-year-old Jack Russel/Boston Terrier mix, lying on the roadside in a pool of blood – clinging to life. She was rushed to a veterinary hospital but died due to the severity of her injuries and extreme blood loss.
The perpetrator, nineteen-year-old Christopher Roberts, reportedly kidnapped Bella while her guardians were not home. Police report that Roberts was a family friend, so it was easy for him to coax her out of the family home and into his car to act out this vile attack.
Roberts confessed to stealing and torturing this innocent animal, blaming his actions on a failed relationship with a member of the family. He has been charged with burglary, aggravated animal cruelty and theft by unlawful taking.
Sign this petition urging Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo to prosecute this man to the fullest extent of the law, and bar him from ever going near an animal again — so no other animal has to undergo the torture that innocent Bella suffered.
