Woman Who Starved Dogs To Death Gets 3 Years: DuPage County Officials

NAPERVILLE, IL — A Hoffman Estates woman was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty earlier this year to felony animal cruelty charges in connection with the starving of two dogs to death in Naperville.

Sarah Gorski, 21, was sentenced to spend three years behind bars, which is the maximum sentence for the charges she pleaded guilty to, the DuPage County State’s Attorney said in a news release. A Hoffman Estates man had previously been sentenced to spend the same amount of time for his part in the crime, State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said.

Authorities said that Gorski and Andre Norris, 29, were responsible for the death of the dogs, who were found by Naperville Animal Control officers last year. The officers were called to a trail area where a dead German shepherd had been found.

The German shepherd, later identified as Meliodas, or "Otis," was found wrapped in a bedsheet in a storage container in a wooded area near a drainage ditch, Berlin’s office said. The dog weighed approximately 20 pounds, while this type of dog should normally weigh approximately 70 pounds.

An investigation led authorities to Gorski and Norris as the owners of Otis. The investigation also determined that the couple had owned at least two other dogs, Scooby and Bubba. Through the their investigation, detectives learned that none of the dogs had had many visits to the veterinarian.

On March 12, 2020, police executed a search warrant at the couple’s home, Berlin said. When investigators arrived, they found Scooby, a German shepherd/hound mix, in a rusted dog crate, filled with animal feces, blood and urine, prosecutors said.

The dog weighed approximately 20 pounds, was severely starved, could not walk, had massive sores, including one where you could almost see his bone, and had feces stuck in his fur, authorities said. Bubba, a corgi, was not located at the time. Through their investigation, authorities learned that Bubba had died in the first week of March.

Investigators subsequently found Bubba wrapped in a sheet in a field, where Gorski and Norris dumped him, Berlin’s office said. Both Otis and Bubba were sent to the University of Illinois Veterinary School for a necropsy, where it was determined that Otis died from canine parvovirus, starvation and poisoning. Bubba, who weighed only four pounds when he was found, died of severe starvation.

“Simply put, with Sarah Gorski and Andre Norris responsible for their well-being, Otis and Bubba never stood a chance,” Berlin said in a news release. “After living in deplorable conditions, they both suffered horrible, painful, and unnecessary deaths after suffering through heartbreaking lives. Thankfully, Scooby did not meet the same fate and is living happily with his foster family.”

Gorski will begin serving her sentence June 2 and will not be eligible for parole until she has served at least half of her sentence.