Monmouth County Man Sentenced For Fatally Beating Girlfriend's Dog

ASBURY PARK, NJ — An Asbury Park man was sentenced Friday after he admitted fatally beating his girlfriend's dog in 2022.

The man is Nicholas Winter, 38. He pleaded guilty to third-degree animal cruelty resulting in death.

As part of his plea deal, Monmouth County prosecutors wanted him to serve three years in state prison, but a judge sentenced him Friday to 180 days in county jail (time served does not count), five years of probation and mandatory substance abuse treatment.

He was also ordered to pay the victim restitution, is banned from ever contacting the victim, and is banned from owning or caring for an animal in the future.

His family disputes some of this, and says Winter admitted to recklessly handling the dog, causing an injury that resulted in the dog's death. His family also said time served does in fact count, and he was not ordered to pay the victim anything, but that he has to pay the county fines and restitution.

He killed the dog on June 4, 2022. Shortly before 4 a.m. on that date, Asbury Park Police responded to a home on Locust Drive for a call from a woman that her boyfriend killed her dog.

Inside the home, responding officers located the deceased dog, a 12-year-old male named “Bentley.” The dog died due to blunt-force trauma to the head, neck and body that ultimately resulted in a fatal traumatic brain injury.

The victim’s other dog, a 14-year-old female named “Sophia,” was also missing, but the female was found in the area a few hours later.

Police say Winter had earlier repeatedly texted his girlfriend while she was at work, threatening that he would hurt her dogs.

Initial Patch report: Asbury Park Man Indicted On Charges He Killed Girlfriend's Poodle (March 2023)

This case may remind readers of this infamous 2018 criminal case where a Long Branch man left his girlfriend's pit bull puppy trapped in a cage as the water rose in Highlands. Similarly, he did this after the couple had an argument. The dog was only saved when a local Highlands woman out for an early-morning walk heard whimpering and rescued the dog; the tide was rising and the water was already up around its legs and body. Aaron Davis, 36, of Long Branch, later admitted to the crime; he was sentenced to one year in prison by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Marc LeMieux.

Read that 2018 story: Dog In A Cage Trapped On Beach As Tide Rose In Highlands

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