Latest news with #TingfengLiu
The Independent
24-06-2025
- The Independent
California dog trainer charged with animal cruelty, evidence destruction in deaths of 11 dogs
Eleven dogs died while in the care of a California dog trainer and prosecutors say he and his girlfriend tried to destroy the evidence by dropping off the dogs' bodies at different crematoriums. Kwong (Tony) Chun Sit, of Irvine, pleaded not guilty Monday in Orange County Superior Court to 11 counts of animal cruelty, 11 counts of animal abuse by a caretaker, seven counts of attempting to destroy evidence and one count of destruction of evidence, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Tingfeng Liu, of Vista, who is dating Sit, pleaded not guilty Monday to accessory to a felony and destruction of evidence, police said. Sit, 53, and Liu, 23, are both are in custody on $550,000 bail each. Prosecutors said the couple was packed and ready to flee when they were arrested on Thursday. Each has been assigned a public defender, prosecutors said. A pet owner contacted police last week saying their dog trainer told them their dog had died and had been cremated, police spokesperson Kyle Oldoerp said. Investigators since have determined that 11 dogs died and that nine of them died on or around Wednesday, police said. Aimee Gutierrez said in a social media post that her family several weeks earlier had adopted a 9-month-old Belgian Malinois and named her Saint. She said the person they trusted to help train Saint informed her by text that Saint had died in her sleep. 'We were not given details,' Gutierrez said. We were not given the change to say goodbye. We later learned that she had been cremated without our consent or knowledge." Another dog was also cremated, police said. The Irvine Police Department's Animal Services Unit recovered the bodies of multiple dogs that prosecutors say had been dropped off by either Sit or Liu at crematoriums. Necropsies performed on three of the dogs show two of the dogs died from heat stroke and the third dog died from blunt force trauma, prosecutors said. Necropsies are pending on the remaining six animals. All but one of the dogs was dropped off at crematoriums last Wednesday. The body of the first dog was dropped off on June 13. Sit worked throughout Southern California under different company names, including Happy K9 Academy, police said. A website with that company name lists Tony Sit as the author of its blog posts. It says their services include boarding and training but doesn't give a boarding facility address or other specific information. An address listed on the website is that of a public park in Tustin, California. The police investigation is ongoing, Oldoerp said.
Washington Post
24-06-2025
- Washington Post
California dog trainer charged with animal cruelty, evidence destruction in deaths of 11 dogs
Eleven dogs died while in the care of a California dog trainer and prosecutors say he and his girlfriend tried to destroy the evidence by dropping off the dogs' bodies at different crematoriums. Kwong (Tony) Chun Sit, of Irvine, pleaded not guilty Monday in Orange County Superior Court to 11 counts of animal cruelty, 11 counts of animal abuse by a caretaker, seven counts of attempting to destroy evidence and one count of destruction of evidence, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Tingfeng Liu, of Vista, who is dating Sit, pleaded not guilty Monday to accessory to a felony and destruction of evidence, police said. Sit, 53, and Liu, 23, are both are in custody on $550,000 bail each. Prosecutors said the couple was packed and ready to flee when they were arrested on Thursday. Each has been assigned a public defender, prosecutors said. A pet owner contacted police last week saying their dog trainer told them their dog had died and had been cremated, police spokesperson Kyle Oldoerp said. Investigators since have determined that 11 dogs died and that nine of them died on or around Wednesday, police said. Aimee Gutierrez said in a social media post that her family several weeks earlier had adopted a 9-month-old Belgian Malinois and named her Saint. She said the person they trusted to help train Saint informed her by text that Saint had died in her sleep. 'We were not given details,' Gutierrez said. We were not given the change to say goodbye. We later learned that she had been cremated without our consent or knowledge.' Another dog was also cremated, police said. The Irvine Police Department's Animal Services Unit recovered the bodies of multiple dogs that prosecutors say had been dropped off by either Sit or Liu at crematoriums. Necropsies performed on three of the dogs show two of the dogs died from heat stroke and the third dog died from blunt force trauma, police said. Necropsies are pending on the remaining six animals. All but one of the dogs was dropped off at crematoriums last Wednesday. The body of the first dog was dropped off on June 13. Sit worked throughout Southern California under different company names, including Happy K9 Academy, police said. A website with that company name lists Tony Sit as the author of its blog posts. It says their services include boarding and training but doesn't give a boarding facility address or other specific information. An address listed on the website is that of a public park in Tustin, California. The police investigation is ongoing, Oldoerp said.
Associated Press
24-06-2025
- Associated Press
California dog trainer charged with animal cruelty, evidence destruction in deaths of 11 dogs
Eleven dogs died while in the care of a California dog trainer and prosecutors say he and his girlfriend tried to destroy the evidence by dropping off the dogs' bodies at different crematoriums. Kwong (Tony) Chun Sit, of Irvine, pleaded not guilty Monday in Orange County Superior Court to 11 counts of animal cruelty, 11 counts of animal abuse by a caretaker, seven counts of attempting to destroy evidence and one count of destruction of evidence, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Tingfeng Liu, of Vista, who is dating Sit, pleaded not guilty Monday to accessory to a felony and destruction of evidence, police said. Sit, 53, and Liu, 23, are both are in custody on $550,000 bail each. Prosecutors said the couple was packed and ready to flee when they were arrested on Thursday. Each has been assigned a public defender, prosecutors said. A pet owner contacted police last week saying their dog trainer told them their dog had died and had been cremated, police spokesperson Kyle Oldoerp said. Investigators since have determined that 11 dogs died and that nine of them died on or around Wednesday, police said. Aimee Gutierrez said in a social media post that her family several weeks earlier had adopted a 9-month-old Belgian Malinois and named her Saint. She said the person they trusted to help train Saint informed her by text that Saint had died in her sleep. 'We were not given details,' Gutierrez said. We were not given the change to say goodbye. We later learned that she had been cremated without our consent or knowledge.' Another dog was also cremated, police said. The Irvine Police Department's Animal Services Unit recovered the bodies of multiple dogs that prosecutors say had been dropped off by either Sit or Liu at crematoriums. Necropsies performed on three of the dogs show two of the dogs died from heat stroke and the third dog died from blunt force trauma, police said. Necropsies are pending on the remaining six animals. All but one of the dogs was dropped off at crematoriums last Wednesday. The body of the first dog was dropped off on June 13. Sit worked throughout Southern California under different company names, including Happy K9 Academy, police said. A website with that company name lists Tony Sit as the author of its blog posts. It says their services include boarding and training but doesn't give a boarding facility address or other specific information. An address listed on the website is that of a public park in Tustin, California. The police investigation is ongoing, Oldoerp said.
CBS News
24-06-2025
- CBS News
Orange County animal trainer charged after at least 11 dogs died in his care
Devastated and grieving dog owners came to Orange County Superior Court on Monday to keep an animal trainer behind bars after at least 11 dogs died while in his care, according to police. Detectives began their investigation into trainer Kwong (Tony) Chun Sit, 53, and his girlfriend Tingfeng Liu, 23, after the dog's owner received a text message from the suspect on Wednesday saying that their dog had died in its sleep and had been cremated, according to the Irvine Police Department. Investigators said 12 canine deaths can be linked to Sit. One of the dog owners, Steve Kotlow, shared the shocking text message he received last week while Sit was caring for his dog. "I'm so sorry to let you know that Luna passed away peacefully during the night while resting," the text message read. "There were no signs of pain or struggle and it was truly unexpected. I am deeply saddened by this loss. Out of respect, I will offer compensation. Luna has been lovingly cremated." Sit faces multiple felony counts of animal cruelty and animal abuse for the deaths of 11 dogs. Liu faces charges as an accomplice. Both have pleaded not guilty. A judge set their bail at $550,000 and ordered the pair to have no contact with any animal. "It just hurts me so much that my dog/my brother has passed away," young dog owner Joseph Hernandez said. "I fear that if Tony is released on bail, I would be terrified, can't sleep, my whole family can't sleep because of this man." Irvine police said they recovered the ashes of one dog and found the bodies of nine more. "We're going to be able to do necropsies to determine how they died, and there are two bodies outstanding that we are currently looking for," police spokesperson Kyle Oldoerp said. Orange County prosecutor Danica Drotman said the necropsies for three of the dogs revealed their cause of death. "Three necropsies indicate that two of the dogs died from heat stroke and one of the dogs died from blunt force trauma," she said. Detectives believe Sit worked with other pet owners in Southern California, under several company names, including "Happy K9 Academy." Irvine police urged any owners whose dogs died while under Sit's care or anyone with information about the case to contact investigators at rsteen@
Daily Mail
22-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Dog trainer and his girlfriend arrested for 'killing' 10 dogs in their care following owner's tip-off
A California dog trainer and his girlfriend were arrested after authorities discovered that at least ten dogs died while under their care. Kwong 'Tony' Chun Sit, 53, from Irvine, and his 23-year-old girlfriend Tingfeng Liu, of Vista, were arrested and booked into Orange County Jail on Thursday for animal cruelty and destruction of evidence, according to investigators. Irvine PD said it received a call on Wednesday from a pet owner who claimed that they'd got a message from their dog trainer saying that their pet had died in their sleep and was cremated. Spokesman for Irvine PD Kyle Oldoerp told The LA Times: 'The one family reached out to us [and] thought it was kind of suspicious that their healthy dog died with this trainer.' As the department's Animal Services Unit began investigating, it discovered that at least ten dogs had died in the trainer's care - with nine believed to have perished on the same day. Authorities said they then quickly recovered multiple dogs at different crematoriums. Based on the suspicious activity, including the attempted cremation of the animals, Sit and Liu were arrested. The police statement said: 'We are working closely with veterinary professionals who will perform necropsies to determine how the dogs died. Our priority is determining if the death of the dogs was accidental or intentional.' Oldoerp said: 'If they all died of an accidental poisoning, or something that was all the same, then it's like, OK, maybe this is accidental. But if it's not, and they're different causes, then that could take us down a different path.' Sit, who worked with pet owners across Southern California under various business names, including Happy K9 Academy, faced serious scrutiny as that company, which specialized in 'obedience, behavior modification, and service dog training', advertised a compassionate approach to dog training on its Yelp page. Monster! Numerous pet owners posted one-star reviews of Sit's business and shared similar stories of their dogs dying while in his care Sit's company's Yelp page said: 'At Happy K9, our mission is simple yet profound – to enhance the bond between you and your furry best friend through effective, compassionate training. We believe that every dog has the potential to be a well-behaved, joyful companion, and our aim is to unlock that potential.' However, numerous pet owners used social media and posted one-star reviews as they shared similar stories of their dogs dying while in Sit's care. Irvine PD urged people who may have used Sit's services and were notified of their dog's sudden passing while in this care to make contact the Irvine Police Department while the investigation's ongoing. Poor reviews: Grieving owners made their feelings known
