Georgia man held with out bond in killing of spouse’s canine |  State Information

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — A judge refused to set bond Monday for a Georgia man accused of stomping his wife’s pet dachshund to death after trapping the dog in its pen in an attack partially captured on video, the Ledger-Enquirer reported.

Recorder’s Court Judge Julius Hunter made the decision during a hearing for Charles Van Pelt, 26, who was jailed on a charge of felony aggravated animal cruelty.

While the dog was killed on Jan. 5, the man wasn’t arrested until Saturday after a friend of his wife, Loren Van Pelt, obtained surveillance video and notified authorities.

Witnesses and police said Van Pelt drove his wife to work, kissed her goodbye and went straight home and attacked her beloved, 9-year-old pet named “Penny.” Video from a neighbor’s camera captured some of the attack, in which the animal was stomped and hit with a heavy glass bowl, evidence showed.

The man’s wife moved out of their home and took her other three dogs with her, her family said.

Van Pelt is in medical isolation and did not attend the hearing so he wasn’t able to respond to the accusations. The judge scheduled another hearing for Thursday, the newspaper reported.

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