There was too much reasonable doubt to convict a Lively woman and her son in a fatal dog-on-dog attack in January.
Angela Trauner and Nicholas Coppo were found not guilty Wednesday by Justice of the Peace Monique Mechefske, who said evidence in the case raised too many questions for her to come to a guilty verdict.
The pair were charged with offences related to the death of Tonka, a Norwegian elkhound, outside the pup's home on Jan. 4. Terry Matthews, Tonka's owner, testified she put Tonka outside to pee and came out later to see him being attacked by two larger dogs.
She identified Tank, a Siberian husky, and Raz, a bull mastiff — dogs owned by Trauner and Coppo — as the animals that attacked Tonka. Tonka later had to be put down because of the severity of his injuries.
Mechefske said the standard on whether to convict or acquit is reasonable doubt, but in a case like this, it must be closer to certainty than balance of probabilities.
“The identity of the dog that attacked Tonka is crucial,” she said, adding she had issues with evidence from both sides.
For example, Matthews testified both that the attack lasted five to 10 minutes, and that Tonka was outside for 5-10 minutes. And the justice questioned why a prolonged attack like that wouldn't have caused enough commotion for Matthews to hear.
“The court questions how there could be no noise during the attack,” Mechefske said.
There was also significant uncertainty over the breed of the dogs who attacked Tonka, with inconsistent testimony and comments, such as they "looked like" the same dogs. There was also a lack of blood evidence in the yard and inside the house.
“After weighing all the evidence, the court was left with a reasonable doubt regarding the identity of the dogs,” Mechefske said.
Matthews left court after the verdict was handed down without speaking to reporters. She did speak with Sudbury.com last year, following the attack, in which she describes the incident and what she saw.
A tearful Trauner said she was relieved.
"This is the best Christmas present our family could ask for," she said. "It's sad what happened to Tonka, and I understand what they're going through, because even though our dogs have not passed on, we haven't had them for a year. They are our family members."
Trauner said she was expecting to get her dogs back within a day or so. She had no expectations heading to court, she said.
"I was being very neutral, saying we didn't know what was going to happen," Trauner said. "It's been a traumatic experience for us and the other family, too. We've done a lot of upgrades and changes at our house to make sure — even the children can't get out of the house now.
"It's been almost an entire year," she said between sobs. "This is the best Christmas present we could ever ask for. My son is getting his best friend back. Our family will be back together. We're just very happy."
