A reward of $10,000 is being offered for anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of those responsible for beheading a female beagle in Ohio.
The pet dog, named Trouble, was found decapitated in her owner’s backyard in East Palestine on January 5, having been reported missing two days earlier.
According to the East Palestine Police Department, Trouble had been “tortured [and] brutally murdered” before her remains were dumped in the family’s yard.
According to the Justice for Trouble Facebook group, which was set up in the wake of the dog’s killing, the Columbiana County Humane Society is offering an $8,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. Mahoning County Crime Stoppers is also offering an additional $2,000.
“At long last, $10,000 to the person that spills the beans and gets this person(s) convicted! Spread it far and loud,” a post on the Justice for Trouble Facebook page added.
“Thank you to everyone that donated, now let’s catch the people responsible,” the East Palestine Police Department wrote on Facebook, sharing Justice for Trouble’s statement on the reward.
The money was originally donated by the local community to Justice For Trouble and handed over to an account entrusted to the Columbiana County Humane Society.
According to Jami Derry, who, along with her friend Dianna Elzer, helped set up the Justice for Trouble page, if no one comes forward if enough information to warrant an arrest, the money will be donated to the Columbiana County Humane Society.
“People are scared for their children and their pets,” Derry told The Pittsburgh-Post Gazette earlier this month. “I heard about this on social media and I couldn’t sleep.”
East Palestine Village Manager Mark McTrustry said to CBS Pittsburgh following the discovery of Trouble’s body: “This is a wonderful community. I’ve been a part of this community for the last 15 years and it just blows my mind that there would be somebody from our community or someone would come into our community and do something like this.”
Ed Byard, a neighbor of Trouble’s owner Barb Greaves, described the decapitation of the animal as “heinous.”
He added: “What kind of mindset of a person would lead someone to want to do something like that.”
The East Palestine Police Department has been contacted for further comment.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact East Palestine Police Department at (330) 426-4341.
