Pittsburgh-Area Man Kills Woman's Dog After She Rejects Him: Police

SLIPPERY ROCK, PA — A man has confessed to stealing and killing a woman's dog last year after she told him she no longer wanted to be friends with him, police said.

Police were called to a home to investigate a burglary in January 2024. A woman told officers nothing in her home was missing except her 10-year-old pug, WTAE-TV and KDKA-TV reported. The woman said the day before the break-in, she had told a man she met on a dating app, Joseph Hillard, that she didn't wanted to be his friend because he made her uncomfortable.

Authorities met Hillard at a Slippery Rock home and he denied knowing anything about the pug. But last week, he went to a police station and allegedly confessed to breaking into the victim's home, stealing the pug and then killing it in a rage.

Hillard has been charged with burglary, aggravated cruelty to animals and tampering with evidence.