‘Too late, Charlie’s dead’: Blackmailer sends picture of hanged dog to devastated owners
A devastated family were horrified when the person blackmailing them told them it was too late to save their missing dog - and sent them a picture of it hanged by the neck.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
Andrius Snigir and partner Olivia Spionkowska were frantic with worry after their 16-month-old beagle Charlie disappeared during a walk on Saturday evening.
They had posted up flyers around Dudley Port in the West Midlands in a desperate attempt to find their pet when they received a phone call from an anonymous man who told them he had seen a distressed-looking Charlie with three Asian boys talking about dog fighting.
However, rather than offer help, the sick blackmailer then bombarded the family with a string of texts, saying that he had Charlie and would only give him back for a “reward”.
Horrific: The dog was pictured hanged by its neck (Caters)
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The sick blackmailer continued to bombard the family with demands and threats. After getting no reply for offering his bank details, the man then sent a text saying “right Charlie’s having it”.
He then sent a picture of a dead dog that was hanging by its neck, and wrote: “Too late, Charlie’s dead.”
Andrius, 29, and Olivia, 31, are holding onto the hope that the picture is not actually Charlie, as they believe the one pictured his bigger than their pet.
Dad-of-one Andrius said: “Looking at the picture we don’t think it’s him - the dog was a bit too chubby to be Charlie.
Disturbing: The blackmailer tried to get money out of the family (Caters)
"Thankfully we thought this quite quickly but we would have been devastated if it was him.
"They think it’s funny to make fun of someone’s misery, it’s just wrong.”
Charlie was enjoying a run in Sheepwash Nature Reserve, Tipton, at around at 5.30pm on Saturday when he started barking and chased after a cat before he disappeared.
West Bromwich Police are now looking into the incident.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "A man came into West Bromwich front office at 2.55pm on October 12 to report that his dog had been stolen.
"An appointment has been made to speak to the man again tomorrow to look at the allegation in more detail.”
Top pic: Caters
