NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Minneola man pleaded guilty on Monday to beating three puppies, killing one of them, in exchange for one year in prison and a restriction on pet-owning.
The man, 31-year-old Ellie Knoller, was charged along with his wife, 32-year-old Jessica Kuncman, after authorities discovered the animal abuse when the couple brought one of the puppies to a veterinarian nearly beaten to death in 2019.
The puppy, an 11-week-old goldendoodle named Bella, lost a leg at the hands of Knoller and was seized at the veterinary only a week after the duo brought Bella’s littermate, Cooper, in with fatal injuries.
Just before Cooper’s death, the couple had another dog, a shepherd mix named Tucker adopted from the North Shore Animal League, who died from a ruptured kidney, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
All three of the incidents happened in the span of just three weeks.
The crimes, described by Nassau Supervising Judge Teresa Corrigan as “abhorrent” and “horrible,” led to Knoller facing two years in prison on three counts each of aggravated animal cruelty and animal torture while Kuncman faced one year in prison on an animal abuse charge.
Knoller admitted on Monday to intentionally inflicting deadly blunt force trauma to Tucker and Cooper as well as causing serious physical injury to Bella, injuring her leg and rib cage.
Bella went into foster care after the incident and continues to recover with a permanent family.
Knoller’s sentencing will be this spring with the judge planning to adhere to the plea deal terms of 1 year in jail and 5 years of probation. She also wants to ban him from having a pet, possibly for as long as 50 years.
Kuncman’s case is set to be dismissed during Knoller’s sentencing, based on his plea deal, if she avoids more legal trouble for a certain period of time.
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