Leonard Ammaturo

Hanging and burying his 6 Akita dogs

Golden Bridge, NY

Nov. 2000

Ammaturo, age 51, an Akita breeder, hanged his 6 dogs from a bicycle rack in his garage because he didn't know what else to do with the dogs as he was moving.

Ammaturo tried to sell them but couldn't so he killed them and buried them in a shallow grave in his yard.

In June 2001, Ammaturo voluntarily turned himself into the Westchester County District Attorney. He was charged with 6 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, which is a felony in NY.

When interviewed by Eagle County Sheriff's Detective Scott Hunter, Ammaturo confessed to killing the dogs, but first said he had poisoned them. In a later interview, he admitted he had hanged them. "He said he didn't want to burden anyone else with his dogs," according to Detective Hunter.

Ammaturo purchased Rich's Auto Body shop in Avon Colorado, when he moved from NY. If convicted Ammaturo could face up to 2 years in prison for each count (12 years total).

References:

The Denver Post

The Animal Spirit

The Canton Rep