After neighbor reportedly kills 2 pets, families desperate for police help

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    ST. LOUIS (KMOV) — “When you look that kind of behavior up in the encyclopedia, it says ‘psychopath,’” said Jason Fincher.

Not long ago, Fincher had gotten a pair of Great Dane puppies.

“They are absolutely great dogs. I love them, they’re amazing,” he said.

They lived in a place animals ought to love; a quiet one-way gravel road in Warren County. But neighbors say there is a man there killing pets, and police aren’t doing enough to stop him. One of Fincher’s dogs, named Blue, roamed around the expansive yards without any trouble. Until one day, in March, Fincher’s wife saw something horrifying.

“She will swear to it, that she stood right here and watched that man swerve and hit that dog,” Fincher said.

Fincher says Blue was hit by a neighbor with the front and back tires. Despite efforts to save him, the puppy didn’t make it.

“That was my buddy. That was my son’s dog, he slept with him every single night,” said Fincher.

Was it an accident?

“He never said ‘sorry.’” Fincher said. “It was flip offs and ‘f*** you,’” Fincher said.

And what’s more, the man who Fincher says did it, had been caught on camera, vowing to kill.

“Then he finally did it,” Fincher said.

Ashley Kindschi, another neighbor nearby, believes the same man also killed her cat Ralph several months ago. Ralph, just two years old, was a best friend to Ashley’s daughter. He was an indoor cat, who accidentally got out.

Ashley found him lying in a nearby bush, discovering he’d been shot clean through with an arrow.

“Never in a million years did I think I would come home to find him with an arrow through him,” she said. Ralph also didn’t survive.

“If someone can do that to an animal, why can’t they do that to a human,” said Kindschi.

In both instances, the cops were called and reports written.

“I don’t feel like anything was done. I feel like more should have been done,” Kindschi said.

She said authorities didn’t seem to do much about the fact the man was seen that same day, wandering her yard, as if looking for the animal he’d shot. They didn’t fingerprint the expensive arrow she still keeps in a bag to this day and she says they didn’t thoroughly investigate the man with the bow targets in his backyard.

“There is only one person who sits out in the back yard, most days and bow hunts,” Kindschi said.

News 4 tried talking with Warren County Sheriff Kevin Harrison. He wouldn’t do an interview and told us he had nothing to add to the story.

“They said there is nothing they can do, because there are no laws out here in Warren County that can really have anything to do with it,” Fincher said.

“It’s a Class A misdemeanor and it’s a very serious offense,” said Bob Baker with the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation.

He says intentionally killing an animal, even on your property, for no reason, is a crime. It becomes a felony if the animal is tortured while alive.

He says the trouble is getting law enforcement to take the laws seriously.

“You hope that they investigate it thoroughly, that’s all we can really hope for, if they take it seriously, not just for the animals sake, but so many of these people start out by hurting animals and then progress to other things,” Baker said.

He’s fighting for tougher laws like mental exams for accused animal abusers.

“For someone to intentionally kill an animal, especially multiple times, they certainly would be deserving of a psychiatric evaluation,” Baker said. But efforts are underway, he says, to weaken laws instead.

“I think it’s important for people when they hear this story and they care, contact their state legislators,” Baker said.

News 4 tried to get a hold of the man believed responsible, but he hung up when we called. We’re not identifying him because he’s not been charged with a crime.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to kill an animal like that. It’s sad,” said Kindschi.

They are worried for the safety of their other animals, and even their kids, and concerned he’ll simply move away.

“I hope his neighbors do not have pets because he’s that kind of guy,” Fincher said.

They hope for some kind of justice.

“You are wrecking peoples’ lives, hurting people in ways you don’t even realize,” he said.

News 4 obtained the police reports for the two incidents. In Blue’s case, the deputy said the neighbor claimed it was an accident and the deputy said there was no evidence the man left the road to hit the dog. In Ralph’s case the reports do say the investigation is ongoing.

There is a Facebook page, called Justice for Ralph.

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