Man Accused Of Stabbing, Killing His Dog

A Michigan man has been charged with killing and torturing a dog that was found stabbed and frozen under a picnic table.

Alexander Gerth, 22 or Utica, Michigan, was arraigned Jan. 31 in Macomb County on a felony charge of killing and torturing an animal.

A two-year-old pit bull mix named Sterling was adopted from the Michigan Human Society (MHS) in Westland, MI in December of 2018.

Days later, someone else allegedly went to the shelter interested in Sterling and was approved to adopt him.

The person that adopted the dog knew Gerth and turned the dog over to him according to MHS investigators.

In a news release, Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said that Sterling was found on Jan. 24 underneath a picnic table in Grant Park in Utica, MI.

He was found in below-freezing temperatures with multiple stab wounds.

Smith said the suspect "admitted to hitting and punching Sterling on numerous occasions in the short time that Sterling lived with him, stating he used the physical abuse as a means of discipline."

The charge of killing and torturing an animal is a felony carrying a maximum sentence of four years in prison.