Newtown Township Man Arraigned On Cruelty To Animals Charges

NEWTOWN, PA — A 40-year-old man accused of stabbing to death two family dogs at his Newtown Township home in January was arraigned on Wednesday in District Court in Warminster.

George Gooch Ash is charged with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals.

During his arraignment, District Judge Christopher O’Neill set bail at $1.5 million or 10 percent. Unable to post bail, Ash was sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in Doylestown to await his preliminary hearing before Newtown area District Judge Michael Petrucci.

On Jan. 18, Newtown Township Police were dispatched to Ash’s Essex Place home after Ash told 911 dispatchers that he had become angry after visiting his mother at a nursing home and took it out on the family dogs, stabbing them to death with kitchen knives.

During an investigation, police learned that Ash began abusing the dogs earlier in the day by kicking and hitting them. He then stabbed both dogs until they were dead.

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.

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.

Blake and Shyla. (Bucks County District Attorney's Office)

During a news conference announcing the charges on Jan. 29, Linda Reider, executive director of the Bucks County SPCA, said her organization "will dedicate our resources to this investigation to ensure that George Ash is convicted fairly and justly.

“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 Reider. “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."

The case was investigated by the Newtown Township Police Department, led by Detective Joseph Camp, and Humane Officer Nicole Thompson with the Bucks County SPCA.

The case is assigned for prosecution to Deputy District Attorney Carrie Worton.