Asbury Park, NJ, Man Indicted on Charges of Brutal Crimes Against Girlfriend’s Dogs

An Asbury Park man has been indicted by a Monmouth County grand jury on charges that he assaulted his girlfriend's poodle last year.

Nicholas C. Winter, 36, threatened the dogs in texts to his girlfriend.

On June 4, around 4 AM, she called Asbury Park police to her Locust Drive home where she said her boyfriend had killed her 12-year-old dog Bentley.

Sophia, a 14-year-old dog, was reported missing but was later found a few hours later.

Investigators learned from a necropsy that Bentley had died from a fatal traumatic brain injury from blunt force trauma to the head, neck, and body.

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Winter was arrested in June and faces a charge of third-degree animal cruelty resulting in death.

If convicted, Winter may face up to five years in prison.