Liza Marrero says everyone in her beachfront community loves her “big, beautiful” staffy pit bull, but neighbor William Hoy might disagree.
Hoy’s mom certainly regrets ever meeting her three little terriers Bambi, Chessie and Phoebe, who weigh 4kg, 5kg and 11kg respectively.
The first time Orini’s lapdogs encountered Hona Bonita, the 59-year-old landed on her back and Hoy had to spend the next three months in jail.
Bonita ended that fateful engagement with a trip to the vet after Hoy stabbed her near the right shoulder, causing a wound that required stitches.
William Hoy (right) was charged with animal cruelty after stabbing a neighbour’s staffy pit bull, who he says jumped at his mother Orini Hona (left) outside their flat in Coogee in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Hoy spent three months in jail before being released on bail
Liza Marrero (above) claims her neighbor William Hoy stabbed her staffy pit bull Bonita after his mother got caught in her own dog’s leashes and fell. Ms Marrero denies that Bonita lashed out at Hoy’s mother after she broke free from her leash
Exactly what happened when Bonita met Bambi, Chessie and Phoebe outside their owners’ homes is now the subject of legal action accusing Hoy of serious animal cruelty.
Hoy claims that Bonita broke free of her leash and stormed over to his mother – pushing her over – and started biting her dogs, especially Chessie.
Mrs. Marrero insists Bonita was restrained at all times and Mrs. Hona only fell when she became entangled in her own dogs’ leashes.
Hoy says that when he heard his mother yelling, “Get that damn dog off me,” he grabbed a quill pen from a jar that was in a cupboard near his front door and ran to her aid.
While Hoy says he stabbed Bonita once to protect his mother and her dogs, Mrs. Marrero thinks he stabbed her pet repeatedly for no reason.
Hoy, who is receiving a disability pension due to mental health issues, sat in the public gallery of the Downing Center local court on March 30 as Ms Marrero testified against him.
The 25-year-old was represented by attorney Matthew Lorkin, who secured bail for his client last June after serving three months on remand at Long Bay Prison.
Bonita the staffy pit bull weighed in at 70lbs when William Hoy stabbed her in what he described as an act of self-defense. Bonita’s owner Liza Marrero says everyone around her loves Bonita
Hoy and Ms. Hona became Ms. Marrero’s neighbors when mother and son moved into a Housing NSW apartment block in South Coogee early last year.
Ms. Marrero, who gave her testimony through a Spanish interpreter, told the court that she bought Bonita as a puppy for $250 and by the time she was one she was “grown up.”
“Everyone knows her and loves her,” she said.
Mrs. Marrero had seen Mrs. Hona’s dogs, which she described as “really small,” “three little fleas,” “the three little dwarfs,” and “like chihuahuas,” but they had never interacted with Bonita.
“If she saw them, it was through the window or balcony,” said the 50-year-old. “When I get home they come close to me and they bark. I laugh because I think it’s funny.’
That all changed around 12:40 a.m. on March 2.
Ms. Marrero said she was walking year-old Bonita and was near the gates of her unit when Ms. Hona came out with 14-year-old Bambi, Chessie and Phoebe.
According to Ms. Marrero, Ms. Hona got caught in her dog’s cuffs, fell to the ground “and started screaming like a crazy woman.”
Ms Marrero said Hoy then came running out of his unit armed with “some sort of knife” and began stabbing Bonita in the right shoulder.
“The son came out and started stabbing for no reason,” she said.
“I told him to stop and he just wouldn’t stop. I tried to protect my dog and he kept going.’
Ms. Marrero told the court that instead of calling Ms. Hona for her help, she encouraged Hoy to hurt Bonita.
“He kept stabbing her and I kept saying, ‘Stop, stop’ and the mom said, ‘Kill the dog’ and so he kept stabbing her,” Ms Marrero said.
Ms Marrero said when she called police on her mobile phone, Hoy fled back to his unit, labeling him as “a chicken.”
Bonita was taken to a nearby vet, got stitches, and was returned to Mrs. Marrero that evening. Hoy was arrested and spent three months in custody.
William Hoy says he came to the rescue of his mother after she fell during an encounter with their neighbour’s staffy pit bull outside their NSW Housing apartment block in South Coogee (abobe)
Under sometimes fiery cross-examination, Ms. Marrero denied that Bonita had detached herself from her leash, run into Ms. Hona, or bit Chessie.
“If she bit her, imagine. She’s a big dog,’ she said.
Mr Marrero also denied paying a fine to Randwick Council for letting Bonita run loose on the day of the incident.
When Mr. Lorkin told Mrs. Marrero that Bonita only had one wound, she said, “She got a lot of stitches. I don’t know how many.’
Ms. Marrero called Mr. Lorkin a liar several times and denied telling lies herself. “I’m not lying,” she told the court. “I never lied.”
Magistrate Glenn Bartley had to repeatedly warn Mr. Marrero to limit her evidence to answering questions rather than intervening.
“This isn’t a TV show,” he said at one point.
Hoy has pleaded not guilty to committing a serious act of cruelty to an animal with intent to cause grievous pain, an offense punishable by a maximum penalty of five years in prison
Ms. Marrero said that since the stabbing, she only took Bonita out when necessary and the dog was still afraid of Hoy’s presence.
“Luckily she’s fine now, but if she hears his voice, she probably needs to pee,” she said. “Or when she sees him, she starts drooling and shaking.”
Hoy has pleaded not guilty to committing a serious act of cruelty to an animal with intent to cause severe pain, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
He has pleaded not guilty to two lesser backup charges of committing an act of aggravated cruelty and committing an act of cruelty to an animal.
The case was adjourned until November when Hoy and Ms. Hona will give their version of events.