Man, woman charged with allegedly starving 2 dogs to death in Hoffman Estates, abusing another: prosecutors

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (WLS) -- A man and a woman from Hoffman Estates have been charged with allegedly starving two dogs to death and abandoning their bodies, one of which had rat poison in its system, DuPage County prosecutors said.

Andre Norris, 27, and Sarah Gorski, 19, each face four felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts of unlawful disposal of an animal, prosecutors said.

On March 2, Naperville Officers and the animal control office responded to a report of a dead German shepherd wrapped in a bed sheet inside a storage container located in a wooded area near a drainage ditch, prosecutors said.

The shepherd, later identified as "Otis", weighed only approximately 20 pounds when it should've weighed nearly 70 pounds, prosecutors said.

A police investigation found that Norris and Gorski had allegedly owned at least two other dogs, Scooby and Bubba, prosecutors said.

On March 12, police served another search warrant for Norris and Gorski's home and allegedly found Scooby, a German shepherd/hound mix, in a rusted dog crate, filled with animal feces, blood, and urine.

The dog weighed approximately 20 pounds, could not walk and had massive sores that almost exposed the dog's skeleton, prosecutors said.

Through their investigation, police learned that Bubba, a Corgi, had allegedly died in the first week of March. Investigators subsequently found Bubba, who weighed approximately four pounds, in a field wrapped in a sheet where Gorski and Norris allegedly dumped him, prosecutors said.

Both Otis and Bubba were sent to the University of Illinois Veterinary School for a necropsy where it was determined that Otis died from canine parvovirus, starvation and rat poisoning, prosecutor's said.

Bubba died of severe starvation, prosecutors said.

"To say the charges against Sarah Gorski and Andre Norris are disturbing would be a gross understatement," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "Otis and Bubba both died a horrible, painful death, allegedly because these two defendants starved them to death. What's even more disturbing is the allegation that the defendants fed Otis rat poison. Thankfully, the manner in which Gorski and Norris allegedly treated their pets was discovered and Scooby appears to be on the mend. If these charges are proven in court, the defendants will pay a serious price. I would like to thank the Naperville Police Department for their outstanding work on this sad case."

Norris and Gorski are also charged with allegedly forging paystubs from Norris' former employer, a local pet store, prosecutors said.

The pair turned themselves in to authorities Monday.

A DuPage County judge ordered Gorski held on $50,000 bail while Norris was ordered to be held on $100,000 bail.

Their next court appearance is scheduled for June 1.