Dog Killing Victim: 'I Just Can't Understand How Anyone Could Be So Cruel'

Before she left home on the morning of May 8, Amanda Murphy said goodbye to her two Miniature Schnauzers, Stella and Hugh, opened a window for fresh air, then turned on a radio to keep the dogs company during the day.

It was the last time Murphy, a Northfield resident, saw her two pets alive.

Later that day, police say, 30-year-old Matthew David Jensen broke into Murphy's home, killed Stella and Hugh and stole $120 worth of state quarters.

Police determined that one dog was stabbed and the other died from stangulation and blunt force trauma, according to a Northfield News report.

The Murphy home wasn't the only residence allegedly burglarized by Jensen. He is accused of breaking into another home nearby, killing a third dog there and stealing a computer and Amazon Kindle, according to the Northfield News.

Jensen was charged Monday with one count of felony first-degree burglary, two counts of felony second-degree burglary and three counts of felony mistreatment of animals.

He is currently being held at the Rice County Jail. Bail was set at $100,000 without conditions.

Murphy, who was volunteering at an event in Bloomington on May 8, was unaware of the break-in at her home until her daughter called with news.

Murphy's husband, Scott, came home for lunch, her daughter said. He found Stella's body in the family's kitchen, then called out for Hugh. When Hugh didn't respond, Scott called the police.

The family eventually found Hugh's body near the living room couch. Murphy believes Hugh saw Stella's death and fled in fear before being killed.

"Hugh was just my boy, he was just always with me," said Murphy, who recalled how the small dog would sit in her lap when they were boating in northern Minnesota.

"It's one thing to have a dog that dies of old age. But to have dogs taken from you—and the way they were taken—it's just horrendous. I just couldn’t understand why, why wouldn’t he put them in another room and lock the door?"

Murphy remembers the phone call she received from her daughter. But what came afterward was a blur.

“I was just in shock, my body started shaking, and I couldn’t believe what she was telling me," Murphy said. "I just came apart."

Murphy, tearful during an interview on Wednesday morning, said she wanted to speak out so that her two little dogs weren't forgotten—and so other pet owners would take greater caution.

"He’s taken my life away from me. He’s torn me upside down and inside out, but he can’t take away my good memories," Murphy said. "I just can’t understand how anyone could be so cruel.

"I just don’t want it to happen to anyone else."