Owners of Sussex dog found dead in child’s bedroom share disturbing details of discovery

By Ellie Nakamoto-White

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    SUSSEX, Wisconsin (WDJT) — Over the last several years, Batman, an eight-year-old Chihuahua based in Sussex, has spent the days by his owners’ sides — either snuggled up inside of their jackets, next to their three young children, or happily lounging on his favorite living room chair.

So, when the family couldn’t hear his telltale collar jingles, or the clickety-clack of his nails on the hardwood floor on Thursday, Jan. 25, they immediately knew something was wrong.

“It was unlike him just to disappear,” his owners told CBS 58’s Ellie Nakamoto-White on the condition of anonymity. “He couldn’t have gone far.”

They began searching all through the house before spending hours driving through the surrounding neighborhoods.

“Obviously with a pet going missing, all these terrible thoughts are flowing through your head, you know did he get hit by a car? Did a coyote get him, or any type of animal? Or did somebody scoop him up, take him, and just not return him?” the owners said. “Just like a child, you pour your blood, sweat, and tears into this being.”

They even reached out to Lost Dogs of Wisconsin who posted a flyer with return information.

The last person to have seen Batman? The family’s 18-year-old babysitter, who they’ve known since she herself was a baby, and whose parents are considered good friends.

“[She] helped me look for Batman for about maybe a half hour, a little over,” the owners said, before she was dismissed from her duties of watching over their youngest child.

Their other two children had been away — so it wasn’t until their 11-year-old daughter returned from Grandma’s house that things took a turn on Friday — nearly 24 hours after he had first gone missing.

“Our daughter comes into the kitchen and she’s like hey, there’s some red stuff on my wall,” the owners said, recalling they first assumed it was paint or children’s nail polish. “She’s like no, I think that’s blood.”

Minutes later, the 11-year-old headed back inside of her room.

“Two seconds later, you hear her scream,” the owners said.

What they then found buried under a pile of stuffed animals and blankets was their worst nightmare.

“I get on my hands and knees, and I start rummaging through, and all of a sudden, we see his feet,” the owners said. “I shove my daughter out of the room, and I just start digging. All I could do was just yell, ‘that’s my dog.'”

The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department said Batman had a “possible stab wound” and that a “plastic bag was on its head.”

“To see something like that, so horrific, is awful,” the owners said. “There’s no words to explain the anger, the sadness, the pain that just went through my body.”

After they called police, the family tried to get a hold of the babysitter.

“She didn’t answer but we wanted to know what happened,” the owners said. “She was watching our four-year-old daughter on Thursday night which then makes us even more terrified.”

They continued saying she had specifically “helped them look” inside of the child’s bedroom where Batman had been found, “saying that she was picking up.”

“We’ve known her. Our children love and care for her,” the owners said, adding that’s why the discovery was so shocking. “What did [Batman] do that would make her do something so horrific to him?”

They finally got in touch with her mom, who said she would find her daughter.

But after, they never heard back from either.

Sheriff’s officials confirmed that the 18-year-old was questioned in relation to the killing and was arrested for cruelty to animals.

When asked if there had ever been any signs of violence toward the children or to their pets, or if something had seemed off, the owners gave a resounding “no.”

Now, they want justice.

“Since we bought this home, she has been our babysitter,” the owners said. “You walk down the hallway, and you know what had happened in this room. I want her to understand that she just didn’t take our pet away. She took a family member from us.”

CBS 58 has reached out to the Waukesha County District Attorney’s office to confirm if charges have been filed against the accused.

The owners said she has a scheduled arraignment hearing on Monday at the Waukesha County courthouse.

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