March 28, 2024, 10:29:48 AM *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: NEW CHILD BOARD CREATED IN THE POLITICAL SECTION FOR THE 2016 ELECTION
 
   Home   Help Login Register  
Pages: 1   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Unimaginably Cruel- Teen Charged in bizarre missing dog case(conviction)  (Read 6652 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
bleachedblack
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 7607



« on: January 05, 2008, 12:41:48 PM »



Sometimes it is just unimaginable how cruel people can be.............


+++++++++++++



Teen charged in bizarre missing dog case

 Last updated: 7:43 a.m., Saturday, January 5, 2008

PHILADELPHIA -- A telephone call at midnight normally would have awoken Bill Whiting, but he hadn't been sleeping much since his dog disappeared. He picked up the phone and couldn't believe what he heard.

 
Children were demanding $600 or else they would kill Edna, his beloved beagle mix. Whiting listened in horror to what sounded like the jingle of Edna's collar, and an animal yelping in pain. He agreed to pay the ransom.

"You don't understand, mister," a boy replied. "I want to kill your dog anyway."

What happened to Edna remains a mystery, but Philadelphia police have charged a 15-year-old with harassment, terroristic threats, theft by extortion and other counts for allegedly calling Whiting. Police have yet to find the dog.

Authorities gave no immediate explanation for how they traced the call.

"I've had tears today a couple of times. I don't see any happy news in this," a heartbroken Whiting said Friday. "I don't have a dog coming back, apparently." He also said he believes at least two children were involved.

Edna had been Whiting's constant companion for more than 10 years. The 57-year-old employee of the University of Pennsylvania's archaeology museum described Edna as a gentle dog that loved children and had been a therapy animal at nursing homes and hospitals.

Edna vanished on Halloween, after Whiting and the dog walked from his home in Philadelphia to a friend's house. Whiting thinks she slipped out into the unfamiliar neighborhood while the door was open for trick-or-treaters.

Frantic, he looked for hours, then printed up "Missing Dog" posters and plastered them around the neighborhood. The posters contained his cell phone number and offered a $500 reward.

Ten days after the dog disappeared, Whiting received the midnight call on his cell phone from a youth who demanded $600. Then a younger boy got on the phone and apparently began abusing an animal.

Whiting said he didn't recognize the yelps, since he had never heard Edna hurt before, but detected the sound of her collar, which had numerous tags and "jangled like a charm bracelet."

He begged them not to hurt the dog, and simultaneously dialed police from his land line.

Whiting went to a police station in the middle of the night to make a report. When he returned home a few hours later, his land line rang almost immediately. "We killed your dog," the voice said. "It's dead."

Whiting began to believe the children really did have Edna, since the land line phone number was only on the dog's tags, not the poster.

"I became hysterical," he said. "I started to tremble."

Police worked for weeks on tracing the calls, whose numbers came up as unavailable on Whiting's Caller ID. Publicity led to an outpouring of support for Whiting and rage against the perpetrators; rewards were offered by animal advocacy groups.

On Dec. 30, police arrested the 15-year-old, who was released to his family for a hearing Jan. 31.

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=652540&category=&BCCode=&newsdate=1/4/2008
Logged

".......O you who love clear edges
more than anything ......    watch the edges that blur"
pdh3
Monkey Junky
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 3019



« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2008, 02:24:47 PM »

Some of these young people are so devoid of the ability to care about others that it scares me. To harm an innocent animal, and then to call the owner and make him listen is really, really disturbing behavior, especially from a bunch of kids. They'll move on to killing people one day.
I feel so bad for that poor little dog, and for the owner. This is really a terrible story.
Logged

What's done in the dark will always come to light.
Sam
Monkey Junky
***
Offline Offline

Posts: 2387



« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2008, 08:09:42 PM »

This breaks my heart. I can understand disliking a human but an innocent animal. Why? Why? Why?
Logged

Just a swinging with the tribe
bleachedblack
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 7607



« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2008, 11:27:03 AM »

I hope the judge sees this for the truely horror filled action it really was and slams the book at them on January 31st.
Logged

".......O you who love clear edges
more than anything ......    watch the edges that blur"
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2008, 01:29:21 PM »

I hope the judge sees this for the truely horror filled action it really was and slams the book at them on January 31st.

  I won't even try to understand the how's and why's of this kind of cruelty, because it's beyond my comprehension.  Pure evil. 
Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
Carissa
Scared Monkey
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 1



« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2008, 08:14:07 PM »

So incredibly sick-  what evil is in this world- This poor family and their innocent dog. I really hope somebody does something horrible to thes kids in jail..and they will be going to jail, if not today,  one day soon I'm sure, no doubt. Sad
Logged
bleachedblack
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 7607



« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2008, 09:40:24 PM »

Teen charged in case of a missing dog

Associated Press
Published January 5, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - Police have charged a 15-year-old youth with harassment, terroristic threats, theft by extortion and other counts for allegedly calling a man and demanding a ransom for his missing dog. Police have yet to find the dog.

"I've had tears today a couple of times. I don't see any happy news in this," a heartbroken Bill Whiting said Friday. "I don't have a dog coming back, apparently."

Whiting, a 57-year-old employee of the University of Pennsylvania's archaeology museum, said he received a phone call Nov. 10 in which two children demanded $600 or else they would kill his beagle mix, Edna. He agreed to pay, but never saw the dog, which had disappeared Oct. 31.

Police finally traced the call, and on Sunday arrested the 15-year-old, who was released to his family for a hearing Jan. 31.

Whiting described Edna as a gentle dog that loved children and had been a therapy animal at nursing homes and hospitals.

http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/05/Worldandnation/Teen_charged_in_case_.shtml
Logged

".......O you who love clear edges
more than anything ......    watch the edges that blur"
MuffyBee
Former Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 44737



« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2008, 11:50:26 PM »

So incredibly sick-  what evil is in this world- This poor family and their innocent dog. I really hope somebody does something horrible to thes kids in jail..and they will be going to jail, if not today,  one day soon I'm sure, no doubt. Sad

Welcome to Scared Monkeys, Carissa.  I hope justice will prevail and those responsible for the evil doings will be punished accordingly and to the full extent of the law.
Logged

  " Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."  - Daniel Moynihan
bleachedblack
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 7607



« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2008, 09:05:54 PM »

Defendant a no-show in dog-extortion case


Posted on Fri, Feb. 1, 2008
A bench warrant was issued yesterday for Victor Rodriguez after he failed to show for a pre-trial listing in the case of Edna, the little brown dog held for ransom in a telephoned extortion attempt last fall.

Rodriguez, 15, lives in Nicetown. He is charged with extortion, criminal conspiracy and criminal mischief, along with harassment and terroristic threats.

Edna's owner, Bill Whiting, attended yesterday's hearing and said he was disappointed but "not surprised" that the defendant didn't show up.

Edna disappeared on Halloween, and Whiting put up posters promising a reward for her return. Ten days later, he got a call from someone claiming to have Edna and then a second call saying he had killed her.

No trace of the dog has been found.

Detectives will be looking for Rodriguez, said Cathie Abookire, spokeswoman for District Attorney Lynne Abraham.

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20080201_Defendant_a_no-show_in_dog-extortion_case.html

Logged

".......O you who love clear edges
more than anything ......    watch the edges that blur"
bleachedblack
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 7607



« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2008, 12:28:59 PM »

Stu Bykofsky: Can you hear us now? Good

Posted on Thu, Mar. 6, 2008
 THE HALF-DOZEN dogs on the sidewalk, brought by their guardians to the "Justice for Edna" rally, didn't get it.

Just dogs, on leashes, outside Verizon's Arch Street headquarters, they couldn't understand why more than 50 people had gathered with posters, and why Bill Whiting was talking trash about the telecommunications giant.

Whiting is one of two victims of a horrible crime with a sick psychological component. The other victim was Edna, a sweet beagle mix with brown eyes and bunny ears that had been Whiting's constant companion for a decade. Yesterday, on a cloudy day made cold by wind gusts, animal-lovers listened to Whiting demand that Verizon be a better corporate citizen.

It began on Halloween night, when Whiting was visiting a friend in the Italian Market area. With trick-or-treaters coming and going, Edna somehow slipped out the door and disappeared.

Whiting plastered the area with posters picturing Edna and offering a $500 reward. For 10 days, he heard nothing.

Then came a call on Nov. 10 at 11:58 p.m. from two punks who said they were 9 and 16, that they had Edna and wanted more than the $500 reward. One taunted Whiting by saying, "You don't believe me, Mister. Let me hurt it so you can hear."

Whiting's heart clenched when he heard a dog yelp in pain over the phone. He believed that two monsters had the little brown dog who had never known anything but kindness from human hands.

The extortionists hung up. Whiting, 57, immediately called police to report the extortion attempt. At 3 a.m., Whiting got another call. The pair said they had killed Edna.

What followed was a long, excruciating process as police sought phone records from Verizon. (Phone records eventually led to suspect Victor Rodriquez, 15, who faces trial Monday on extortion, criminal conspiracy and criminal mischief charges. As a first-time offender he might not get jail time, but being as he reportedly is not enrolled in school, some form of close supervision should be mandatory.)

"The police investigation of this crime was hampered by Verizon's policy of charging law enforcement for searching phone records, even when there's a legal warrant in place," Whiting told the rally.

"Inadvertently, this creates red tape while valuable time is lost."

Whiting, who is employed by Penn's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and has almost used up his comp time seeking justice for Edna, had with him a printout of an online petition created by animal-rights advocates. The petition, which calls upon Verizon to cooperate with police fast and for free, has more than 5,000 signatures. It's as thick as the Philadelphia phone book.

"I cannot think of an acceptable reason why any good corporate citizen would not provide police with timely information, free of charge," Whiting insisted.

The unhappy task of accepting the gaily wrapped book of petitions fell to Verizon's senior VP of media relations, Eric Rabe, who did so with a tight face.

Verizon takes the case seriously, Rabe told me. It sympathizes with Whiting, understands his frustration and anger, but feels his anger is "misdirected." Verizon did cooperate with police, and the national company receives 15,000 law-enforcement requests each year and charges only for those that require "extra work." In the Edna case, police were charged $150. Verizon made "no profit" on it, Rabe said. (Verizon's 2007 revenues were $93.5 billion, up $5.3 billion over 2006.)

The charges are legal, Verizon says.

The protesters talk "justice" and Verizon talks "legal."

Like the dogs, Verizon doesn't get it. *

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20080306_Stu_Bykofsky__Can_you_hear_us_now__Good.html
Logged

".......O you who love clear edges
more than anything ......    watch the edges that blur"
bleachedblack
Monkey All Star Jr.
****
Offline Offline

Posts: 7607



« Reply #10 on: March 11, 2008, 05:52:01 PM »

Philadelphia teen guilty in bizarre missing dog-extortion case

 Posted on Tue, Mar. 11, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - A 15-year-old boy was convicted of making a midnight phone call to the owner of a missing dog in an attempt to extort money.

Authorities traced the call to dog owner Bill Whiting, who had put up reward posters with his cell phone number after his dog, Edna, disappeared in Philadelphia on Oct. 31.

About 10 days after Whiting put up posters, he received the midnight call from two boys who said they had Edna and wanted $600. Whiting said he heard the sound of dog tags and a yelping animal in the background and called police.

The teen denies making the call, which originated from his home in the Kensington neighborhood.

"He doesn't know anything about it," defense attorney John D'Angelo said after a hearing Monday.

An acquaintance of the teen testified at the hearing that "the defendant had told him ... that he tore a poster down and made a phone call (to Whiting) and threatened to kick his dog in the head," Assistant District Attorney Heidi Grogan said.

The dog, a brown beagle mix, remains missing.

Judge Robert Rebstock found the teen delinquent , the adult equivalent of guilty , on charges of theft by extortion, conspiracy, terroristic threats and harassment/stalking.

The proceeding was closed to the public because of the defendant's age and charges. He will be sentenced March 31.

Whiting received a second call, about three hours after the first one, on his land line, which he said was only on Edna's dog tags , not the reward posters. He said a man who sounded like he was in his 20s told him Edna was dead.

Authorities have not determined who made that call because it appeared to have come from a disposable cell phone.

http://tinyurl.com/3bfn5u
Logged

".......O you who love clear edges
more than anything ......    watch the edges that blur"
Nut44x4
Maine - USA
Global Moderator
Monkey Mega Star
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 18800


RIP Grumpy Cat :( I will miss you.


« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2011, 01:31:17 PM »

This was solved...I do not know what his sentence was. Moving to solved
Logged

Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware/Of giving your heart to a dog to tear  -- Rudyard Kipling

One who doesn't trust is never deceived...

'I remained too much inside my head and ended up losing my mind' -Edgar Allen Poe
Pages: 1   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Use of this web site in any manner signifies unconditional acceptance, without exception, of our terms of use.
Powered by SMF 1.1.13 | SMF © 2006-2011, Simple Machines LLC
 
Page created in 9.653 seconds with 22 queries.