Pleas Entered In Fatal Gilbertsville Dog Attack

A Gilbertsville couple appeared in court last week on charges related to a fatal dog attack in June.

The Marshall County Circuit Court Clerk said 29-year-old Daniel Kai Alexander and his fiancee Tonya Wilson entered not guilty pleas on August 13. They both face a charge of harboring a vicious animal, which is a class B misdemeanor.

A pre-trial conference on the charges is set for September 4.

Alexander was arrested July 3, after a body was found on June 29 near McCoy Lane in Gilbertsville. Preliminary autopsy results from the state medical examiner's office showed that Brian S. Butler died from a dog attack. 

State Police said Alexander and Wilson were the owners of two pit bulls found in the area. They also said that Alexander tampered with evidence at the scene, and that he had knowledge of Butler's body but didn't report it to authorities.

Warrants on the new charges were served on July 31, the same day Alexander appeared in court on a felony charge of tampering with physical evidence, and a misdemeanor charge of failure to notify authorities of the discovery or possession of a dead body. A judge bound Alexander's case over to a Grand Jury, which should meet again soon.