Former police officer accused of killing three law enforcement K9s

Former K9 police officer Lt. Daniel Peabody is accused of killing three law enforcement working dogs. The inquiry into Lt. Peabody began after he left his k9 partner Inka (a four-year-old Belgian Malinois) in a hot patrol car for three hours while the temperatures outside exceeded 90 degrees. Following the death of Inka, Lt. Peabody resigned from his job. When his department began to investigate the death of Inka, they found other suspicious incidents regarding the two other K9s previously in Peabody’s care. According to the Washington Post,

When authorities investigated Inca’s death, however, they quickly stumbled upon other suspicious incidents involving the K-9 officer and his partners.

When they asked Peabody about Dale, a yellow lab he adopted in 2012 after five years of working alongside the animal, Peabody initially said the retired dog died in a freak accident.

“Peabody initially claimed Dale’s death was accidental due to Dale choking on a toy,” the marshal’s office said in a statement, according to the Journal-Constitution. “However, the investigation yielded evidence that Dale was in fact shot and killed by Peabody at his Paulding County home.”

On June 20, investigators executing a search warrant on Peabody’s former home in Paulding County unearthed the remains of a dog they suspected was Dale.

Peabody was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and making a false statement to investigators.

On Tuesday, investigators announced yet another twist in the curious case. A forensic veterinarian had determined that the dog remains did not, in fact, belong to Dale. Instead, they belonged to a Belgian Malinois — possibly Inca’s grandmother.

The discovery brought to three the number of dogs Peabody is suspected of killing. Dale’s body remains unaccounted for.