Brewster NY
3-07-2023 9:17am

A hunter in New York state is being accused of fatally shooting and skinning two dogs he mistakenly believed to be coyotes.

A man from New York is facing criminal charges after he was accused of murdering and stripping the skin of two domestic dogs in Connecticut upon mistakenly believing them to be coyotes.


Michael Konschak, a 61-year-old resident of Putnam County's Carmel, has been charged with switching evidence, forgery, and offenses related to hunting after supposedly killing two dogs in northern Fairfield County on Friday, 18th November after they had eloped from their owner's house.

The environmental conservation police of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection apprehended Konschak on Wednesday 8 February, as court documents declare.

Erin Caviola owned two dogs, named Cimo and Lieben, which went missing after a bear broke through part of the 6-foot fence in her backyard. Upon sighting the bear, the pair of dogs followed it, and have not been seen since by Caviola.

For weeks, Caviola's family searched for their two pets, with the aid of a tracking dog. Following the dog's lead, the Caviolas found the missing animals in an unwooded area, which they shared in an online post that rapidly spread.


On Monday, the 12th of December, an individual came forward to the family and reported that images of the grieving family's deceased pets, which had been skinned, were being distributed by Konschak, who had asserted that they were coyotes.

In her victim impact statement, Caviola related her shock and distress of discovering her two dogs had been slain.

"Concerning the murders of Cimo and Lieben, we have been left without closure or solace. Instead, we are compelled to grapple with pain, rage, dissatisfaction, and, above all, the indelible, grotesque images of our cherished canines shot and flayed alive."

"Concerning the murders of Cimo and Lieben, we have been left without closure or solace. Instead, we are compelled to grapple with pain, rage, dissatisfaction, and, above all, the indelible, grotesque images of our cherished canines shot and flayed alive."


Caviola noted the heartbreaking effects of Cimo and Lieben's killing and dismembering on their relatives, speaking of the intense emotional trauma, anguish, fatigue, and gloom that has come over the usually cheerful and affectionate family.

Caviola questioned whether Konschak could have misinterpreted the animals as being wild ones, citing physical differences between them and a coyote such as indications of past operations and Cimo being neutered.

Konschak, who allegedly forged permission to hunt in Connecticut, has been charged for the corresponding actions related to the killings.

Manipulating evidence, a felony; forging documents, a felony; obstructing an officer, a misdemeanor; unlawfully killing deer without a license; disregarding wild game hunting laws. Following these allegations, the individual concerned was released after posting a $15,000 deposit and will appear at Danbury's Superior Court on Wednesday 12th of April.

Caviola's family has initiated a Change.org petition, demanding that Konschak be held accountable for animal cruelty, gathering more than 93,000 signatures up to Thursday, March 2.

The appeal had asked that Konschak's request for Accelerated Rehabilitation be refused, which would have cleared the charges against him from the public record. Subsequently, his application for the program was denied.





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