An hour and a half after Crime Stoppers offered a $2,000 reward to catch a killer this afternoon, a necropsy found Latte and Swag were the victims of an animal attack.
Local media has publicized the case of Latte, a 6-year-old Maltese, and Swagg, a 7-month-old Chihuahua, since Sunday, when their owner said they had been killed.
A necropsy at Colorado State University today concluded they were “victims of a predatory animal.” The specific animal was not identified.
The reward has been rescinded.
Early this afternoon, Denver police issued a reward notice stating the pets “did not die of natural causes.”
Their owner, Cristina Amaro told 9News her pets were shot by a BB gun at her home in the 4700 block of East Dartmouth Avenue.
“I don’t know if somebody was in my back yard or it was one of my neighbors,” she told the station. “There were multiple shots.”
Doug Kelley, head of the Denver Municipal Animal Shelter, who assisted in the investigation, said such fatal acts of animal cruelty caused by humans are rare.
“It happens in Denver maybe once a year,” he said. “It’s very rare, fortunately, and usually the result of something — a neighborhood dispute, a domestic situation.”
If a human culprit had been caught, that person could have faced a charge of aggravated animal abuse, a class 6 felony that carries a fine up to $100,000 and up to 18 months in jail.
A conviction calls for a minimum of 90 days in jail or home detention. A subsequent conviction can lead to three years in jail.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
