According to the Ancona Prosecutor’s Office, it was the owner who killed them, a lawyer from Macerata, Marco Battellini, 64 years old. He would have poisoned them by feeding them food mixed with a rat poison that he had purchased days earlier in a hardware store in Numana.
The three animals were found dead on February 6, 2021 and the owner declared that they had been poisoned.
After a direct summons, Battellini ended up on trial for killing animals and the hearing opened this morning at the Ancona court, before judge Lamberto Giusti. The accused wanted to get rid of the three animals because he was no longer able to control them. He charges that the accused rejects through his lawyer.
«My client did not kill any dog - clarifies the lawyer Giovanni Bora – and we are happy that there is now the scrutiny of a third judge to establish the truth. They are dogs of a certain economic value and if he wanted to get rid of them he would have sold them also because there had been a woman who had made him an offer. Let’s assume that he is someone’s victim but the truth will emerge at the trial.”
The dogs were named Max, Hermes and Diva. The first was 6 years old and was the father of the other two who were 2 years old. After the discovery, the owner himself announced the news on Facebook by publishing the shocking photo of the now dead dogs lying on the ground.
Battellini had also used harsh words against those responsible, again via social media, writing “the circle is narrowing, you have left traces, you disgust me” and warning the owners of other animals by writing “I suggest maximum attention”.
Prosecutor Daniele Paci had initially opened a case against unknown persons, which was then transferred to prosecutor Valeria Cigliola due to the former’s transfer of work location. The autopsy carried out on the animals showed traces of the rat poison.
Two animal rights associations, Lav, with the lawyer Tommaso Rossi and Enpa with the lawyer Claudia Ricci, became civil parties in the trial. Enpa speaks of «a horrifying picture that is emerging – comments Carla Rocchi, national president – if the accusations were to be confirmed we would find ourselves faced with a socially dangerous case. We expect an exemplary punishment.” Rossi, for Lav, expresses “satisfaction for having been admitted as a civil party, underlining the absolute attention of the association to monitor very serious facts like this which damage animals”.
