Jan 1, 2020
A Florida woman is facing a felony animal cruelty charge after allegedly drowning her dog in the bathtub, police say.
Margaret Kinsella, 43, told deputies she purposely killed her Labrador retriever because she was upset that the dog barked all the time, according to court documents.
She confessed, "I drowned my dog," Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies wrote in the arrest report, and was arrested once a necropsy determined the dog's cause of death. Authorities charged her with a third-degree felony under Florida law and ordered her to appear in court Jan. 10.
The drowning took place on Nov. 5, an affidavit said, while maintenance workers were repairing Kinsella's air conditioning unit. Kinsella took the chocolate lab on a walk around 2 p.m., maintenance worker Wilfredo Asia said in the affidavit, and went into the bathroom with the dog upon their return. Asia then heard screaming and asked Kinsella if she needed help but she refused, the affidavit said.
The drowning took place on Nov. 5, an affidavit said, while maintenance workers were repairing Kinsella's air conditioning unit. Kinsella took the chocolate lab on a walk around 2 p.m., maintenance worker Wilfredo Asia said in the affidavit, and went into the bathroom with the dog upon their return. Asia then heard screaming and asked Kinsella if she needed help but she refused, the affidavit said.
The drowning took place on Nov. 5, an affidavit said, while maintenance workers were repairing Kinsella's air conditioning unit. Kinsella took the chocolate lab on a walk around 2 p.m., maintenance worker Wilfredo Asia said in the affidavit, and went into the bathroom with the dog upon their return. Asia then heard screaming and asked Kinsella if she needed help but she refused, the affidavit said.