The 6-month-old pit bull puppy was found dead in a recycling bucket at a Florence motel Monday night.
SPRINGFIELD -- A township man has been charged with killing a 6-month-old pit bull puppy found dead in a recycling bucket at a Florence motel, the Burlington County SPCA Humane Police said.
Owner's photo of the puppy, courtesy of the Burlington County SPCA Humane Police. The agency and local police allege the man told investigators the dog caused him problems so he "took him out" by hitting the pup in the head with the back side of an axe, the agency said.
Richard Bijacsko, 51, is charged with inflicting unnecessary cruelty to a living creature, cruelly beating a living creature and causing the death of a living creature.
In a Facebook post Friday, the humane police said they were alerted to the dog's death Monday night, after it was found dead in the bucket at the Florence motel.
The owner of the puppy was staying at the motel but was not allowed to have pets in the room, so the owner arranged for the dog to be cared for by Bijacsko at his property, police said.
Humane investigators went to Bijacsko's property on Tuesday with Springfield police officers and questioned him.
Bijacsko initially said the dog broke its leash and was hit by a car on Route 68. He said he carried the dog into his house, put him in a recycling bucket and then took the dog back to the owner and dropped it off, police said.
Humane officers searched the highway but found no evidence to corroborate the story. Bijacsko couldn't tell police where he picked the dog up because he'd been drinking and couldn't remember the location, police said.
Police left after the interview, but arranged for a veterinarian to perform x-rays on the dog's head that revealed the dog's skull sustained multiple fractures. The veterinarian said the injuries were not consistent with typical injuries from an accident involving an animal and a vehicle, police said.
The humane police officers returned to Bijacsko's house the next day and when confronted with inaccuracies in his prior statements, he allegedly admitted he killed the dog with two blows from an axe and commented that he "took him out."
Officers seized the axe used to kill the puppy, the humane police said. The dog owner's identity was not made public.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.