Michigan animal lover reportedly killed trying to stop man beating dog
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Witnesses say Robert ‘Bobby’ Cavanaugh struck with pipe after trying to stop neighbor abusing dog on Christmas Eve. A reputed animal lover from Michigan was reportedly beaten to death while trying to stop his neighbor from beating a dog on Christmas Eve, according to authorities and people who knew the victim.
Robert “Bobby” Cavanaugh, 60, was riding his bicycle through his mobile home community in the Detroit suburb of Madison Heights when he noticed a fellow resident physically abusing a dog, neighbors of the men told the local Fox affiliate. Cavanaugh purportedly stopped, got off his bicycle and stepped in to try to defend the animal. But the other man ended up striking Cavanaugh with a pipe and killing him, the victim’s sister – Jane Thompson – and his neighbors recounted to various media outlets.
“With no hesitation, Bobby tried to stop that man,” Thompson also wrote on a GoFundMe campaign page meant to raise money for Cavanaugh’s funeral expenses. “But instead, Bobby was beaten to death with a pipe.”. Police confirmed to Fox 2 Detroit that first responders found Cavanaugh unconscious and bleeding at about 7.40pm on 24 December after he was apparently beaten with an object, and he was pronounced dead after being brought to a hospital. But police maintained they were still investigating reports that Cavanaugh may have been killed trying to save a dog.
Cavanaugh’s particularly brutal death led to the arrest of Rodney Beasley, 68, on a count of assault with a dangerous weapon, according to what the local prosecutor’s office said to Detroit’s WWJ news radio station. His bail was set at $100,000, though his charges could be upgraded once medical examiners finish their investigation into Cavanaugh’s cause and manner of death, the prosecutor’s office told WWJ.
