Owner of dog kidnapped and killed in Butler County speaks out: "I want him to pay for it."
BUTLER (KDKA) - Police in Butler County said a woman's dog was stolen and ultimately killed by a man she met on a dating app.
She told KDKA-TV that her 10-year-old pug vanished shortly after she told the man she didn't want to be anything more than friends.
Butler Police said that 28-year-old Joseph Hillard confessed to the crime last week, more than a year after the dog had disappeared.
The day before the dog went missing, Hillard would not stop calling or texting Chyanne Callender. According to the criminal complaint, Hillard confessed to police to dumping the dog in the woods.
Callender said she never had any doubts that Hillard was behind it.
"I got her for my 13th birthday," she said. "I grew up with her so any time I needed comfort she was there. I did everything with her. I would get her chicken nuggets, that was her favorite."
To Callender, Lexi was more than a dog; she was a friend.
Butler Police recently arrested Hillard, and Callender said she met him on a dating site, but she didn't want to be more than just friends. She said he got upset and kept calling and texting her.
Then, in January of last year, police said he broke into Callender's home and stole her dog.
"I left Pennsylvania and everything, I didn't feel safe," she said. "I heard from a second cop; they said they didn't know where he was."
She added that she was scared and said there was "no doubt in my mind he would have hurt me."
Callender's neighbor gave her surveillance video that she believed was Hillard. Court documents show that Hillard told police he found an open window, climbed in, grabbed Lexi, and left. He ultimately confessed to killing Lexi and leaving her behind a restaurant in Butler Township.
"She was a tiny, little dog who was elderly at that," Callender said. "What rage did he go into just because of the fact that he was told no? That's something his parents should have taught him yes and no and what that means."
Now, her message to others is to listen to your gut.
"If you feel like something is off, if he shows up at your house unannounced, say something," she said. "I want him to pay for it so I want him to get all the time he can get for it. As far as I'm concerned, he can burn in hell."
Hillard is now facing charges of felony aggravated assault and burglary. He's in jail on $100,000 cash bond, but police haven't been able to find Lexi's body.
