A gunshot likely killed a dog whose remains were found at the former home of an ex-schools officer, the Cherokee County Marshal’s Office said Tuesday.
However, the remains do not belong to one of two police dogs Daniel Peabody is suspected of killing. The remains are those of a third dog, a 10-year-old Belgian Malinois, Chief Ron Hunton said.
Peabody was charged last month in connection with the deaths of two police dogs, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Inca, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, died from heatstroke June 10 after being left in a patrol car for hours. Peabody resigned as a lieutenant with the Cherokee schools police shortly after the incident.
It was the investigation into Inca’s death that produced evidence suggesting Peabody shot and killed a second dog, a yellow lab named Dale, in 2012.
“Peabody initially claimed Dale’s death was accidental due to Dale choking on a toy,” the marshal’s office said last month in a statement. “However, the investigation yielded evidence that Dale was in fact shot and killed.”
Investigators last month found a dog’s remains at Peabody’s former home in Paulding while executing a search warrant. The marshal’s office released the forensic veterinarian’s findings on Tuesday. Those findings revealed the third dog may have been the grandmother of Inca, Hunton said.
Investigators still do not know the location of Dale’s remains.
Hunton said it’s the “right thing to do” to keep the investigation going.
The latest development won’t affect the charges against Peabody, Hunton said.
