ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A man has been convicted of multiple felonies Wednesday in connection to the 2019 stabbing death of his neighbor's dog in south St. Louis County.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that 63-year-old John C. Ross III was convicted in St. Louis County Circuit Court of one count each of animal abuse and unlawful use of a weapon, which are both Class E felonies.
The incident happened on Sept. 7, 2019, in the shared driveway of two neighbors who live in Crestwood, Missouri, in south St. Louis County near Crestwood Mall. Prosecutors said Ross stabbed his neighbor’s dog eight to nine times with a pocket knife after the dog allegedly bit his hand while they both were in the driveway. Ross also grabbed a gun at some point but took the gun back inside his home shortly after the incident.
After the incident, the dog, Teddy, ran back to his home and was found injured by one of his owners. He was taken to an emergency veterinary clinic where he was euthanized due to the severity of his wounds and condition.
According to a veterinarian at the clinic where the dog was taken, the dog was stabbed in the chest into the lung and liver. He was also wounded in the shoulder, neck, nose and back.
According to court documents, the three dogs belonged to a family on the 9700 block of Greenview Drive, adjacent to Ross’ home.
Raven, a 2-year-old dog, was quite larger than the other two dogs, who were all about 60 to 90 pounds each. Teddy and their other dog, Genevieve, were both 3-year-old litter-mates.
The stabbing was reported to the Crestwood Police Department at about 2:30 p.m. that day. An officer went to the home at around 3 p.m. where Ross told him that he had been attacked by a black and white dog on the driveway the neighbors share. He told the officer that he’d been bitten in the right hand and his jeans were torn. He also admitted that he stabbed Teddy.
The officer said he saw a scrape on Ross’ hand that did not look like a dog bite. The officer also said he did not see blood on the driveway and asked Ross about it.
Ross then changed his story and said Teddy chased him into his yard where the officer saw a lot of blood in the grass. The officer asked Ross about the knife he used to stab Teddy and he said he had cleaned it off shortly after the incident. The officer took the knife and arrested Ross at the scene.
Ross’ defense lawyers said in court around late July and early August that he was “in reasonable apprehension of imminent harmful contact by the dog,” according to court documents. Defense lawyers also used Ross’ past experience with the three dogs and a previous incident another neighbor had with Raven. Raven had allegedly bitten the woman who lived on a nearby street in April 2019. She reported the incident to Animal Control and received a tetanus shot.
The woman testified in court that she had never been bitten by Teddy, only Raven. No other neighbors made complaints regarding experiences with the three dogs, according to court documents.
The court found that Ross was not in imminent danger during his contact with Teddy because Teddy left the driveway after initially running up, barking, and jumping on Ross (causing his pants to rip) and (nipping his hand). Rather, the court said Ross followed Teddy into his own backyard, grabbed him and stabbed him multiple times.
Prosecutors used eyewitness testimony and photos and evidence from the scene. Prosecutors said Ross purposely tortured Teddy before he killed him.
"I want to thank the court for its careful and thorough analysis and ultimately this guilty conviction," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement. "I also want to thank the family members of Teddy for having faith in this office to hold this individual accountable for this horrendous act of violence. Hopefully now this family can now get some peace and closure.”
A sentencing date has been set for Oct. 10.
