A Kentucky man has been arrested after he allegedly set his wife’s dogs on fire and threatened to shoot her after she confronted him about his affair with one other woman.
Bobby Atkinson allegedly made the threat to kill his wife during a morning altercation on Thursday, May 21, at their home in Louisville, in accordance with WAVE.
Atkinson’s wife told police they got into the argument of their house about one other woman. After she confronted him, she claimed that Atkinson, 37, got out a handgun as she got her children ready for college.
“While holding the handgun to his side, the perpetrator advanced on the victim and made the statement, ‘If we didn’t have a daughter together I’d shoot you and stand over you,’” an arrest citation viewed by the Louisville Courier Journal read.
Atkinson’s wife then left the house along with her children and tried to acquire an emergency protective order. The wife reportedly learned from a friend that Atkinson was expecting a baby with one other woman and she or he later returned to their home to retrieve her medication, in accordance with the Courier Journal.
Upon her return, Atkinson’s wife allegedly heard a smoke alarm and smelled something burning in the house.
Certainly one of the dogs was found beneath a bed. The dog then emerged “covered in ash” and seemed to be suffering open wounds and had burned fur, in accordance with WAVE. The girl later told police the dogs were covered in ash, in addition to appeared to have some type of accelerant on their fur.
Each dogs were taken to Louisville Metro Animal Services for treatment and their conditions will not be currently known.
Atkinson was arrested around 3:40 p.m. on May 21, in accordance with the Courier Journal.
He has since been charged with two counts of torture of a dog or cat, two counts of second-degree cruelty to animals, one count of menacing and one count of third-degree terroristic threatening, in accordance with online jail records viewed by Us Weekly.
Atkinson attended his arraignment hearing on Friday, May 22, and pleaded not guilty. His bond was initially set at $20,000, though a judge later raised it to $50,000, per WAVE.
A Tennessee man is accused of attempting to kill his mother by setting her and her house on fire after she tried to have him evicted, authorities said. Dustin Tayler Machen is charged with first-degree attempted murder, attempted especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated arson, aggravated burglary, and interference with a 911 call in reference to the […]
Following the incident, Atkinson’s wife told WAVE she feared for her family’s safety.
Meanwhile, The Arrow Fund executive director Shelia Joneleit told the outlet that the allegations against Atkinson showed a correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence.
“When people set dogs on fire because they’re attempting to make a degree with their ex-spouse, it’s pure terror,” Joneleit said. “It’s pure torture of the animal.”
The Louisville Metro Police Department didn’t immediately reply to Us’ request for comment regarding the case.