On the late night of December 18, 2022, a woman went to the Manchester Police Department to report that her boyfriend, 29-years-old WILLIAM TYLER FARNSWORTH (pictured), had killed their 5-month-old puppy at their apartment on Hanover Street, Manchester.
The arrest affidavit obtained by Voice For Us, identifies the woman as C.D.
C.D. told Officer Vignault that two months earlier, she and FARNSWORTH had bought a red/blue nosed Pitbull puppy, named Duke, for $300 and that they split the cost equally.
C.D. explained that she and FARNSWORTH “were in the process of trying to potty train Duke but he was having accidents on a regular basis.” C.D. said that the accidents made FARNSWORTH “very upset and that he would regularly lose his temper and he would hit, stomp, kick, and pin Duke against the wall after he had accidents.”
C.D. claimed she had to tell FARNSWORTH to stop, “but he would excuse his behavior as him trying to discipline the dog to correct his behavior.”
C.D. went on to say that the day before, at roughly 5:00 a.m. she woke up to a sound coming from the kitchen but she could not quite describe the noise. When she entered the kitchen, she witnessed FRANSWORTH “kneeling on Duke's neck/shoulder as Duke laid on his bed as he was cleaning up an accident that Duke had that morning.”
Officer Vignault asked C.D. if it would be accurate to describe the noise Duke was making as muffled crying or choking and she said yes.
C.D. said that she yelled at FARNSWORTH to stop and walked back to the living room. Shortly after, she heard FANSWORTH start “freaking out”. C.D. said when she went back into the kitchen, she saw FARNSWORTH attempting to perform CPR on Duke and yelled “I am sorry, I didn't mean to kill him.”
According to the affidavit, C.D. told FRANSWORTH that he needed to take Duke to the vet and that FRANSWORTH was continuing to panic over killing him.
C.D. explained to Officer Vignault that she couldn’t take Duke to vet because three juvenile children were asleep, and that she did not want to wake them up and traumatize them with the death of Duke.
C.D. said FARNSWORTH was eventually able to regain his composure and got ready to take Duke to the 24-Hour Emergency Vet on 2743 Brown Avenue in Manchester.
C.D. said she saw FARSNSWORTH putting Duke into a black trash bag and when she asked him what he was doing, he told her that he could not look at him. C.D. told FRANSWORTH to take Duke out of the trash bag and put him on his dog bed.
After FARNSWORTH left the apartment, sometime between 7:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., he called C.D. and asked her if she was going to call the police and he made her tell him she wouldn’t.
According to the affidavit, when FARNSWORTH returned to the apartment, he told C.D. that the vet tried to perform CPR on Duke, but he was dead and they were going to cremate him.
Officer Vignault followed up with the Emergency Vet Center and asked staff if they had any records of Duke coming in and they said no.
Officer Vignault also checked the area around the facility in an attempt to find Duke's body but results were unsuccessful.
Animal Control Officer Kayla Tremblay also stepped in and followed up with the Emergency Vet Center and staff confirmed there were no records of Duke’s admittance. ACO Tremblay searched the area again but Duke’s body was nowhere to be found.
On December 20, 2022, an investigator was able to speak with FARNSWORTH over the phone and invited FARNSWORTH to come in for an interview. FARNSWORTH requested to be called back. About twenty minutes later, the investigator received a telephone from an attorney representing FARNSWORTH to advise that FARNSWORTH did not wish to speak with the investigator any further.
Based on the information obtained by the officer investigating the case, there was probable cause to file charges against FARNSWORTH.
Police then took to social media to seek assistance from the community in locating FARNSWORTH wanted for Felony - Animal Cruelty, Witness Tampering, and Falsifying Evidence.
On the early morning of February 17, 2023, acting on a tip, police located FARNSWORTH and took him into custody.
According to an update posted on Facebook, police said that FARNSWORTH was also found to have suspected heroin/fentanyl on him at the time of the arrest and was charged with two counts of Possession of a Controlled Drug.
FARNSWORTH was scheduled to be arraigned in Hillsborough Superior Court North on February 17, 2023.
I have emailed Hillsborough Superior Court to inquire about the case and I was told that it is currently in a pending status, scheduled for a Dispositional Conference on April 12, 2023.
From my understanding, C.D. contributed to Duke’s senseless and preventable death!
It is my personal opinion that she could have reported FARNSWORTH after the very first abusive behavior, but instead she simply told him to stop and walked out of the kitchen after witnessing the filthy murderer kneeling on a tiny puppy!
Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from official news outlets. Links included.
Details may be removed or additional information may be provided in future should such sources report an update.
FARNSWORTH’s mugshots shared from Manchester Police.
