Animal Abuse: Illinois Man Sentenced To 3-Years In Prison For Starving Dogs To Death

A couple who starved and possibly poisoned their dogs to death face animal cruelty charges. 29-year-old Andre Norris was sentenced on Monday, Nov. 8. His co-defendant 21-year-old Sarah Gorski will appear in court on Wednesday, Nov. 10. The couple was investigated after the body of their severely malnourished dog was found dumped in a wooded area in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Naperville Officers and Naperville Animal Control were alerted on March 2, 2020. They were called after the body of a German Shephard was found near a trail. The dog’s body was wrapped in a bedsheet, put in a storage container and dumped in the wooded area near a drainage ditch.

An investigation was launched into the matter. Necropsy of the dog showed that the weight of the dog at the time of death was around 20 pounds. German Shepherds are supposed to weigh around 70 pounds. This indicated that the animal was severely malnourished. The examination determined that the animal died of parvovirus, starvation and rat poisoning.

The dog was eventually identified as Meliodas, as known as Otis. DuPage County State Attorney on their official website announced that Norris and Gorski were identified as the abused animal’s owners. Investigators also found out that the couple owned two other dogs.

To ensure the safety of the two other dogs, the investigators executed a search warrant on March 12, 2020. They searched the couple’s home and found a German Shepard and Hound Mix dog. The dog was identified as Scooby. It was found shut inside a rusted dog crate which was filled with excrement and blood.

The dog weighed around 20 pounds and was so malnourished that it could barely walk. It had horrific sores so deep that the dog’s bones were visible. The animal had feces stuck to its fur.

While Scooby was found on the property, investigators were unable to find the second dog, a corgi named Bubba. They later found out that the dog had died in the first week of March. The couple had wrapped the small dog in a sheet and dumped the corpse in a field. Investigators located the body and sent it for a necropsy.

Bubba weighed only four pounds at the time of death, NCTV17 reported. The cause of the dog’s death was reported as starvation.

Norris was sentenced to three years in prison on animal cruelty charges. He has to sever half of the sentence before being eligible for parole. Gorski awaits trial. Scooby was sent to a foster home where he made a full recovery after being rescued.