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Search Warrants Reveal New Clues In Killing Of Fayette County Family Dog

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- The Washington Township Police Department filed two new search warrants in the ongoing investigation into the killing of a family dog.

A Fayette County family continues to seek justice after the killing of "Otto," a 3-year-old German Shepherd.

Otto
(Image Provided)

The family says Otto was killed after getting loose and running out of their home's back yard one night in late February.

The family searched the area that night with no luck, but found Otto dead on the hill behind the home the following morning.

Otto's owner, Paul Zuro, said police officers followed a blood trail from Otto's body to a yard belonging to a nearby neighbor. KDKA's cameras were there as officers collected rocks from the neighbor's back yard and placed them in evidence bags. Police confirmed to KDKA that the rocks were covered in "splattered blood."

The newest search warrants filed this week list neighbors Michael and Vanessa Zadrozny in the public documents. Police confirm that the two live in the home where investigators collected the evidence in the early stages of the investigation.

The first search warrant requests an investigation into the contents of an iPhone owned by Michael Zadrozny. The warrant lists him in "violation of: aggravated cruelty to animals."

The second search warrant is for the contents of an iPhone owned by Vanessa Zadrozny. The warrant lists her "in violation of: tampering with or fabricating physical evidence."

Both search warrants were signed by the magisterial judge on June 10.

No criminal charges have been filed in this case. The officer originally in charge of the case, Robert Cunningham, was suspended last week and "removed from the schedule."

Chief of Police Bruce Tooch now leads the investigation into Otto's death.

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