NEWTON TOWNSHIP: Owner of 2 Dogs Kills Both by Stabbing Them to Death
Friday, January 31, 2025
NEWTON TOWNSHIP, PA (JANUARY 30, 2025)--A 40-year-old man was charged recently with stabbing two family dogs to death inside his home in Newtown Township. George Gooch Ash, of Essex Place, Newtown Township, was charged on Jan. 22, 2025, with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. He will be arraigned at a later time.
“To say the defendant’s actions were inhumane is an understatement,” District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said at a Wednesday news conference. “They were sadistic.” “I commend the outstanding work done by the Newtown Township Police Department and the Bucks County SPCA, and I can assure you that this case will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
George Gooch Ash, of Essex Place, Newtown Township, was charged on Jan. 22, 2025, with allegedly stabbing his two dogs to death
This investigation began Saturday, Jan. 18, after officers with the Newtown Township Police Department were dispatched at 5:29 p.m. to 25 Essex Place. The 911 caller identified himself as George Ash who lives at the address. Ash told 911 dispatchers that he became angry after visiting his mother at a nursing home earlier in the day and took it out on the dogs, stabbing them both to death with kitchen knives, according to a criminal complaint.
He told dispatchers he also stabbed himself a few times. Newtown Township police arrived and made contact with Ash as he exited the home. Ash, who was wearing blood-stained clothing, was detained by the officers and taken to the hospital for medical treatment. No one else was inside.
Through the investigation, police learned that Ash began abusing the dogs earlier in the day by kicking and hitting them. He then stabbed one with a knife and the blade broke off inside the dog. He then grabbed a second knife and stabbed both dogs until they were deceased. Police executed a search warrant and processed the scene. Police observed bloodstains throughout the first floor of the home and several areas of blood pooling on the first floor, including inside of a dog bed.
Police located a steak knife handle lying on the kitchen floor with a large portion of the blade broken off. A second knife was found inside the kitchen sink and wrapped in a bloody rag. That knife was described as a chef-style knife with an 8-inch blade. Both knives appeared to have dried blood on them. Police also found blood-covered paper towels balled up on the kitchen counter, next to the sink. Near the kitchen, police located two deceased dogs lying next to each other. Both dogs had slashing and puncture-type injuries to their torso.
The dogs were identified as a 7-year-old male Beagle-Lab mix named Blake and a 9-year-old female Beagle-Collie mix named Shyla. “Since our founding in 1912, the Bucks County SPCA has worked tirelessly to obtain justice for animals who have suffered acts of cruelty by people who were supposed to care for those animals,” said Linda Reider, Executive Director of the Bucks County SPCA. “Our mission will always be to end animal suffering in Bucks County. To that end, we are working with Newtown Township Police and the Bucks County District Attorney to gain justice for Shyla and Blake, two beagles who were tragically and horrifically killed by someone they knew well.” “We will dedicate our resources to this investigation to ensure that George Ash is convicted fairly and justly.”
This case was investigated by the Newtown Township Police Department, led by Detective Joseph Camp, and Humane Officer Nicole Thompson with the Bucks County SPCA. This case is assigned for prosecution to Deputy District Attorney Carrie Worton.
Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.