Woman Seeks Justice After Homeless Man Living in Park Allegedly Attacks Her, Kills Her Dog
Plenty of people walk their dogs through their local parks every day. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures, good for body, mind and soul.
Unless, of course, someone attacks you while you’re out, hitting you with a stick and beating your dog so badly that it ends up dying from complications.
It’s a horrible turn to an activity many enjoy, but it’s a reality one neighborhood in New York is facing.
On Aug. 3, Jessica Chrustic was walking her 2-year-old golden retriever mix, Moose, at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. As they walked, they spotted a homeless man armed with a stick and a bag of recycling items as he went through the trash.
Chrustic knew the man to be dangerous, and the pair tried to give him a wide berth.
“This man is violent,” Chrustic told Patch. “He’s just a person I knew to avoid.”
But the man spotted them and threw a bottle of urine at Chrustic before approaching them and brandishing his stick. Chrustic and Moose tried to get away, but the man still managed to hit Chrustic across the back and Moose in the mouth.
“Thank god for a nearby woman that screamed and bikers that jumped off their bikes,” Chrustic wrote on a GoFundMe she started to cover her dog’s expensive vet bills. “My dog, Moose, had to be rushed to the vet for emergency dental surgery and x-rays to check for damage to his jaw. One tooth was completely shattered and had to be extracted, the tooth next to it was chipped.”
Though those issues were handled, something was still wrong. The man must have hit Moose in the stomach, as well, Chrustic said. According to a Change.org petition started to address the incident, Moose was found to have internal bleeding.
He appeared to be going septic and was rushed into emergency surgery.
“Moose did not survive through surgery,” Chrustic wrote in an update on the GoFundMe. “I’m absolutely shattered, angry, and heartbroken. Moose was my life and my world.
“I am working hard through incredible grief to respond to everyone — each and every single message helps get me through this time. Please know I appreciate each and every donation and all the incredibly kind, comforting words.”
Getting any sort of justice has been slow going, though, as there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding whether or not a police report was filed and whether or not the police are working on anything.
According to Chrustic, the police went through the park and claimed to not have been able to find the man. After one such search with Chrustic, they told her they were dropping the case.
“When they’d dropped me off, I thanked them for their time and that’s when they informed me that they were closing the case,” Chrustic told the New York Post.
“I was obviously taken aback. I questioned why. He said, ‘It’s been two months.’
“The police should have already been able to apprehend him. I have gotten a litany of excuses. I won’t rest until he’s found.”
However, a spokesperson for the NYPD said the case had not been closed.
“The investigation is active and ongoing,” a spokesman told the Post. “Since the incident, the NYPD has continuously taken investigative measures to bring the individual responsible to justice. The NYPD has conducted canvasses of the park with witnesses, posted images of the suspect and increased patrols in the area.”
A petition has been started, and as the story circulates, more stories of similar attacks by the same man have been put forward.
“Since then, it has come to light — as far back as 2019 — that he attacked another woman and her dog though she was able to get away,” the Change.org petition states. “Both incidents were reported to the NYPD and many have since come forward to tell their own unfortunate and frightening encounters with this man who is known to live in Prospect Park and frequently harrass and attack women in particular.”
Locals are understandably upset and seeking some sort of concrete action, but it appears that the suspect is still on the loose.
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