| DOG HOLDS SUSPECT |
| DOG HOLDS SUSPECT |
| Dog holds slaying suspect for police. by Jane Kwiatkowski, News Staff Reporter Buffalo NY, August 26, 1996 A pet Pit Bull pursued a man who allegedly stabbed a woman to death Monday morning and held him by the ankle in a Person Street yard until police arrived, homicide detectives reported. "The dog deserves a medal", said Captain Charles T. Fieramusca, Chief of the Homicide Bureau. "We'll take any help we can get". James Webster, 37, of 213 Goodyear Ave. was charged with second-degree murder and weapons possession. Webster is accused of fatally stabbing his 35 year old girlfriend, Linda Abernathy, who shared the same address on Goodyear Ave., according to police. The stabbing occurred shortly after midnight in the lower apartment of Ms. Abernathy's daughter, Gaynell Rose, 19, who lives on Person Street. Ms. Abernathy was taken to Erie County Medical center for treatment of a stab wound to the upper right chest. She was pronounced dead at 12:54 a.m.. An argument between Webster and Ms. Abernathy sparked the killing and lasted a matter of minutes, witnesses told police. "It happened very quickly", Fieramusca said. "But once the stabbing occurred, the boyfriend of the daughter let his Pit Bull loose after the suspect". Webster had already tried to flee the apartment once, according to police, but the dog grabbed him by the leg and managed to momentarily detain him. "He (Webster) broke free and ran into a nearby yard where the dog caught up with him, grabbed him by the ankle and held him", Fieramusca said. When Broadway Station Officers Michael Ty and James Maroney arrived, the Pit Bull and Ms. Rose's boyfriend were holding Webster. Police took Webster to Sheehan Memorial Hospital where he was treated for a dog bite to the left ankle. A four inch buck knife, believed to be the murder weapon, was recovered by police in a yard on Persons Street. |
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