Authorities investigating the murder of a Colorado dog breeder had believed that searching for his 10 doberman puppies might lead them to the perpetrator. But on Friday, officials said, they had charged a suspect and were hoping that development would also help them locate the missing dogs, which are still unaccounted for.
Paul Peavey, a 57-year-old resident of Idaho Springs, Colorado, was found shot to death on 24 August – days after he had been reported missing by friends and family – by a search party combing through his sprawling 110-acre property.
On Friday, the Clear Creek county sheriff’s office filed an affidavit charging another Colorado man, Sergio Ferrer, 36, with Peavey’s murder and aggravated robbery.
Ferrer was arrested hours after Peavey’s body was found for failing to appear in court in Nebraska on a separate weapons charge, and had been considered a person of interest from early on in the investigation, according to a statement from the sheriff’s department.
Officials said they had accumulated enough evidence to support the charges but that the district attorney’s office would determine the final charges to be filed. Ferrer, in interviews with police, admitted to shooting Peavey, according to an affidavit, but claimed he was acting in self-defense after an argument erupted between the two men over illegal activity.
A member of the search party tipped off officers that Ferrer’s family member had been selling doberman puppies on Facebook, the New York Times reported. Authorities secured a warrant and on 25 August searched Ferrer’s home, where they found numerous items belonging to Peavey, including a phone, jewelry and metal detectors.
Bruce Boynton, who participated in the search party and identified himself as a friend of Peavey, told a local Denver news crew he went up to the property and realized things were not as they should be.
“The puppies were gone,” he said. “The house was tossed – anything of value missing.”
The search for the puppies, which can be sold for thousands of dollars, remains under way. They are each microchipped and officials have called on the public to come forward with any information that may help locate them.
“The investigation into Mr Peavey’s death continues, including the investigation into his doberman puppies that are still unaccounted for,” the department said in a statement posted on Facebook on Friday.
“Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call the sheriff’s office tip line” or can submit information anonymously online.
