Dracut man charged with animal cruelty in death of roommate’s dog

Local News

Anthony Segnini was arraigned last week in Middlesex Superior Court where he pleaded not guilty.

A 36-year-old Dracut man has been indicted on a charge of animal cruelty in connection with the death of his roommate’s dog last year. 

Anthony Segnini was arraigned last week in Middlesex Superior Court, where he pleaded not guilty to the charge of animal cruelty.

The charge stemmed from an alleged incident on Dec. 11, 2023. Dracut police said officers responded to a home on Sunset Road for a report of possible animal cruelty after a returned home from work to find her dog Seamus, an 8-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, dead in his playpen, according to court records. The 8-pound dog was covered with a blanket, blood, and feces. The woman allegedly found blood, urine, and feces on the carpet and walls of the living room. 

Prosecutors said the woman took the dog to Wignall Animal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A necropsy later determined the dog died of severe blunt trauma from a blow to the head and also sustained bone fractures, a collapsed lung, and other injuries as a result of being struck intentionally and repeatedly, according to court documents. 

According to prosecutors, Segnini allegedly told the woman — his roommate — that Seamus was unresponsive when he woke up for work and that he attempted CPR on the animal before covering him with a blanket and leaving. He allegedly told investigators a similar statement. 

Segnini was later arrested. He was indicted by a Middlesex County grand jury in September. 

Upon his release following his arraignment on Oct. 24, he was ordered to have no direct or indirect contact with his former roommate, to have no unsupervised contact with the animal at his residence, and to possess no animals. 

He will return to court on Nov. 21. An attorney for Segnini did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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