WALLINGFORD, Conn — A Wallingford woman is taking a stand against animal abuse after her father was charged in the death of her two-year-old “American pocket bully”, Diesel.
51-year-old Arnaldo Silva of Northford remains in jail Friday night. However, he did post bond twice this week after two separate arrests for what police said were due to violating the conditions of his release.
“My whole life has flipped completely upside down due to this. Not only do I lose, you know, an animal that I’ve loved very much that I felt like I didn’t get enough time with. But I lost, basically, my family is torn apart,” said Gabriella Silva, Arnaldo’s daughter and Diesel’s owner.
Gabriella is still in shock after seeing the aftermath of Monday’s horrific crime scene. She said it all started with a voicemail from her father who said, “Diesel is dead.” Then, she rushed over to Arnaldo’s Woodvale Dr. home.
“I walked in, to this living room, and there was blood everywhere,” Gabriella said. “I could see Diesel lying there and immediately, I ran and my dad was sitting on the couch staring at the dog’s dead body.”
“It was a brutal murder scene, that’s really all you can describe it. It was a murder scene,” Gabriella said.
North Branford police said Arnaldo Silva was covered in blood, and under the influence. In Diesel’s cage, investigators found a bloody kitchen knife. Gabriella made a call to 911.
“He took something that he knew, he knew very well how much Diesel meant to me. He knew and he took that away,” Gabriella said.
The idea to get Diesel was actually her dad’s. He called her about a year and a half ago and surprised her.
“It was instant when I met him, I can’t even explain it. I’ve never felt this love for an animal in my whole entire life and I literally fell in love with him,” Gabriella said.
Gabriella said Diesel changed her life for the better, even strengthening her and her father’s relationship, after they lost touch because of his issues with alcohol. She said Arnaldo gets violent when he drinks, but never to this extent. She said he loved the dog, too.
“He has never given me any signs of abuse prior. If I knew, I would have taken him out of the situation, you know that’s my baby,” Gabriella said.
Now, Gabriella is using the strength she has left to stand up for Diesel, as she fights hard in search of justice.
“I want people to know that it’s not okay to abuse animals because they’re god’s creatures and you should never hurt them and that if you do, that you will be penalized to the full extent of the law,” Gabriella said.
When asked if he killed Diesel, he responded, “No, I tripped, I fell into my wall, I tripped over him he’s always around my feet. I drank too much, and I fell off.”
But Gabriella isn’t convinced it was an accident.
“I’ll never forget his face when he was just sitting on the couch just staring at my dead dog. I’ll never forget that. That is not somebody who did an accident, when you do an accident, you help. You do everything you can. And he did not help him, he stood there,” Gabriella said.
Arnaldo Silva has been charged with Cruelty to Animals and Threatening in the Second Degree. He was arraigned again Friday afternoon, after being arrested for the third time this week Thursday night. Initially, police set his most recent bond at $25,000.
FOX61 has reached out to judicial representatives to see if the judge kept the bond at the same amount.
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.