Harrison R. Kristofak bought a 3-month-old pitbull off Craigslist and named her Georgia.
Four days later, Marietta police officers pulled her stiff, maggot-covered carcass out of his yellow 2006 Mustang GT parked at Life University, according to a report from his weekend arrest.
The 22-year-old University of West Georgia student was moving to the area to attend Kennesaw State University. But he stopped by Life on Saturday about noon to visit some friends.
Campus security called the cops because of the sight and stench coming from the dog, who police said had been dead more than a day.
Kristofak bonded out of Cobb County jail about a day later for $7,920 on a felony aggravated animal cruelty charge.
He told police that Georgia had been vomiting and seemed sick all four days he had her. Kristofak also said he had made an appointment with a veterinarian to get Georgia checked out.
When investigators asked about what he’d been up to the last few days, Harrison “changed his timeline several times and was evasive.”
He stayed at the Extended Stay America hotel off Windy Hill Road a couple of nights before his arrest and kept Georgia in the car overnight with the windows partially down. He said he checked on her once that night.
He said Georgia was “alive and excited to see him” when he left the hotel that morning. From there, he drove to Carrollton to drop off some items, as part of his move.
About 2 p.m. that day, he was driving through Austell on I-20 when Georgia threw up on the passenger seat “where she took her last breath shortly thereafter,” the report said.
“He stated he did not stop nor drive her to a vet because there was nothing they could do, she was deceased,” according to the report.
Kristofak then went to Life to see his friends, one of whom told police that Harrison had said he’d dropped off the dog with roommates at his Carrollton apartment, the report said.
His plan was to bury Georgia in his Aunt’s backyard in Carrollton. When the officer asked if he was going to drive there days later “with the stench of a rotting animal ... he just shook his head while looking down.”
A call to the phone number listed for Kristofak on the report was not immediately returned Wednesday. His next scheduled court date was not listed on the magistrate court’s online database.
In other news:
About the Author
