Man Charged In Dogs Torture In Mokena Due In Courtroom In November

MOKENA, IL — A 29-year-old Midlothian man who faces legal costs in connection to the dying of two dogs that belonged to a lady he met on a cell courting app is scheduled to seem in court docket subsequent month after being indicted earlier this yr by a Will County grand jury.

Matthew Berry was indicted in May with animal torture and abuse costs in reference to the dying of two dogs belonging to Sarah Manos. Manos filed a grievance with the Mokena Police Department in January, claiming that Berry had overwhelmed and tortured her canine for 14 hours, which led to the canine’s dying.

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Earlier this yr, Berry was ordered to pay Manos, who’s a highschool instructor in Arlington Heights and met Berry on the courting app Bumble, greater than $160,000 in reference to the torture and killing of the woman’s two dogs, Daisy and Kirby.

A decide ordered that Berry to pay Manos $100,000 in damages after figuring out that Berry violated the Illinois Human Care For Animals Act in 2020. Berry was additionally ordered to pay an extra $60,000 in different charges to cowl prices together with veterinarian payments, the acquisition worth of the 2 dogs and as almost $13,000 in psychological well being therapy that Manos obtained after the dying of her two dogs.

In the indictment, Berry was charged with one depend of animal torture within the beating dying of Kirby in addition to a depend of aggravated cruelty to animals within the beating, which police stated took place in Mokena in 2020.

Manos stated she met Berry on Bumble and that the couple bonded over their love of animals. However, in response to a lawsuit she filed, Berry turned abusive to her and bodily abused her dogs.

She claims that the dogs, which have been shih tzu and bichon frisé mixes, died in numerous methods. She stated Daisy turned wobbly after Berry gave the canine medicine earlier than the canine died a day later.

Berry then reportedly punched Kirby, which brought on the canine’s dying shortly thereafter, in response to the lawsuit.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this yr that Cook County officers refused to prosecute Berry. That led her to file a police report with Mokena Police and converse with Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow.

In 2020, Glasgow was named one in all “America’s Top Ten Animal Defenders” by the Animal Legal Defense Fund for his anti-animal cruelty initiatives.

“As St. Francis of Assisi recognized more than 900 years ago, those who would deny any creature the shelter of pity and compassion would do likewise to fellow humans. These words were remarkable given that they were made during one of the most violent times in human history, and they remain true today,“ Glasgow said at the time.

The Sun-Times report said that a spokesperson for Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said that there was not enough evidence to charge Berry with a crime. Since then, Manos has posted about Berry on various platforms, including TikTok, warning other women who may encounter Berry on dating apps.

Despite her frustration of not finding help in Cook County, Manos wrote on Change.org after Berry was charged with animal cruelty and torture charges in Will County in June 2022, that she was grateful for the support from the community she had received.

“Thank you, from the absolute bottom of my heart, for your love and support through all this,” Manos wrote. “This fight has been challenging and heartbreakinghowever right here we’re. Finally. Thank you to your love and assist of me on this journey, and extra so your love for Kirby and Daisy. To Kirby and Daisy, this has all been for you. And justice, LOVE, prevails.”