Unityville man pleads guilty to animal cruelty, other charges after stabbing neighbor’s cow to death
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In a packed and emotional courtroom, President Judge Nancy Butts sentenced Gary Colatosti, 60, of 145 S. Woods Road, to 12 months on Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) in the January 2020 theft of two bovine cattle heifers, resulting in the stabbing death of one of the cows, with the other sustaining a neck wound.
The cows, Lyndy and Lexy, were owned by the minor children of Edwin and Danielle Kitzmiller, and in addition to being family pets, the cows were part of a 4-H project being undertaken by the two children.
More than 20 family and local 4-H chapter members were in attendance as not only a show of support to the family, but also to take a stand against animal cruelty.
In May 2020, Colatosti was charged with two counts each of aggravated cruelty to an animal, cruelty to an animal, theft, receiving stolen property and one count each of criminal mischief and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, after he stole the two cows from the Kitzmiller Farm, located in the 2700 block of Keller Hollow Road in early January, according to to state Trooper Anthony Mazzone.
Lexy returned later that afternoon with a "neck wound consistent with damage caused by a bladed object," Kitzmiller told police. Additionally, the cow's normally friendly demeanor had been replaced by one of being scared and skittish. She would later die of her injuries.
A family friend followed cow trails leading to Colatosti's backyard, and observed Colatosti burning a brush pile with a pile of guts at the bottom, utilizing a propane tank and a torch, Mazzone's report said.
While questioning Colatosti, Mazzone observed the brush pile as well, noticing "a small blood trail leading" to the pile. "Colatosti said he did not see the black cow, but did see the brown one in the field, east of his property," Mazzone said.
Mazzone returned to Colatosti's home that afternoon after receiving a report of an ongoing fight and found members of Kitzmiller's family and Colatosti "yelling and arguing with each other," the trooper said in the affidavit.
The brush pile was still burning, Mazzone said, and he observed additional blood in the bed of Colatosti's pickup truck, as well as scattered all throughout the backyard that was not there during Mazzone's previous visit, he said.
The Kitzmiller family said the black cow had been found "dead down the road by identifying tire marks in the snow," adding that when Colatosti noticed Mazzone's arrival to the scene, "he began removing blood and hair out of the bed of his pickup."
Just south of Colatosti's property, Mazzone discovered four trash bags containing warm, unfrozen quarters of a cow with black hair still attached to some of the meat. Four blood samples that were collected and sent to a lab subsequently tested positive as bovine blood, Mazzone said.
Speaking for the family, Todd Arthur, grandfather of the minor victims, recounted the impact that this event has had on the Kitzmiller family.
"No words can describe the fear that has been instilled into the lives of my daughter, Danielle, and her three young children over the past almost four years," he read from a prepared statement.
"We, as a family, were at a loss of words in trying to explain to our three very young children as to why someone would seriously want to brutally kill two young dairy cows," Arthur said, adding that the cow was wearing a pet collar around her neck.
While accepting Colatosti's acceptance into the ARD program, Arthur stressed that this was only "out of respect for my daughter, Danielle, and my wife, Sandy, who want this belabored, ongoing legal process to finally come to an end."
Arthur implored Butts to reconsider the length of time Colatosti will serve on ARD, stating "this case is not your typical first-time offender DUI or drug offense," he said, pushing for the state maximum of two years. He also requested that Colatosti be given "significant community service."
"I am hopeful that after significant time served in the ARD program and completion of warranted community service," Arthur said in closing, "that Mr. Colatosti's tendency towards unprovoked violence will fade away and he will have earned a rightful restart."
In pleading guilty to all the charges and accepting ARD, Colatosti escaped a possible 31 year jail sentence and $90,000 fine.
As conditions of his entrance into the ARD program, Colatosti was ordered to pay restitution to the Kitzmiller family, write a letter of apology addressed to the minor victims, make a $1,000 donation to the Lycoming County Dairy Committee, complete 50 hours of community service, and have no contact with any member of the victims' family.
Additionally, Colatosti will not be permitted to possess any firearm and his hunting privileges will be suspended for the duration of his time in the program.