CONVICTED (2026) | Dylan James Campbell, born October 1998, of Lewis Court, Beersbridge, East Belfast BT6 9TG – for animal cruelty and domestic abuse.
Campbell pleaded guilty to the following offences:
Domestic violence: Two counts of non-fatal strangulation or asphyxiation, two counts of common assault, and using threatening or abusive behaviour against his ex-partner.
Animal cruelty: Causing unnecessary suffering to his ex-partner’s chihuahua puppy.
Drug offences: Possession of Class A and Class C drugs.
Property damage: Causing criminal damage to police property.
The incidents began on 22 March 2025, after an argument escalated in Belfast city centre. Campbell became aggressive after monitoring his partner’s Facebook account and questioning individuals who interacted with her posts.
The confrontation escalated into violent physical assaults at the victim’s home later that evening.
The victim told police the accused grabbed her around the throat and started to squeeze it with his hands which she described as “terrifying”, adding: “I was unable to breathe”.
She recalled a previous incident on January 25, 2025 when she was at home and the defendant was also present. The woman said she was “frightened” as the defendant became argumentative. He told her he wanted to buy more drugs but she said she didn’t have enough money in her bank account.
She said she went into her son’s bedroom and sat on the bed and was followed by Campbell who sat down next to her and started “shouting and ranting”.
“My puppy was sitting on me and the defendant was shouting and he said the dog was ‘yapping’ before throwing the puppy across the floor. This behaviour scared me.”
During police interviews, Campbell accepted possession of the drugs but made no comment to all further questions relating to the domestic assaults.
The court heard Campbell has 25 previous convictions on his criminal record with four entries for common assault, one for a threat to kill and eight for drug offences.
In May 2017, he was convicted of striking an ex-partner in the head and threatening to kill her. In 2021 he was further convicted of striking another partner to the head and pushing her to the ground, before striking her to the face and arms.
Sentencing | 28 months in custody, followed by an additional 28 months on supervised licence upon his release. Five-year restraining order.It has not been reported whether an animal disqualification order was issued.
CONVICTED (2026) | Caitlyn Murphy, born c. 1973, of Heath Lodge Avenue, Ballygomartin, Belfast BT13 3WH – starved one dog to death and left another in a state of emaciation.
Murphy admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a Staffordshire bull terrier and failing to meet the needs of a black and tan chihuahua.
The offences were discovered after Murphy arranged for a pet crematorium to collect the deceased Staffy. The employee contacted the local authority animal welfare officer (AWO) with concerns that the dog had been neglected and starved.
The AWO attended Murphy’s home and was met with “an overwhelming smell of faeces and urine” in the bedroom where the Staffy lay behind the door. The room was also covered in rubbish.
In a second room, the AWO found a painfully thin, black and tan chihuahua, who had no access to either food or water. Her fur was matted with faeces.
The dog was seized on welfare grounds and assessment gave her a body score of four out of nine.
The deceased dog had the lowest possible score of one out of nine. Post mortem examination established he had no food in his stomach, leading the vet to conclude death was due to starvation.
Murphy told the AWO during interviews that she had mobility problems so had been relying on others to go upstairs to feed the dogs.
Defence counsel Kelly Doherty told the court “this is a lady who has considerable difficulties,” adding that at the time, she had suffered the deaths of two close relatives and was “really struggling.”
While Miss Doherty suggested the offending was passive, rather than active, Judge Brady said she did not agree.
Sentencing Murphy, the judge said: “These animals were neglected and starved and lived in appalling conditions over a significant period of time and for that, you must take full responsibility.
“I think it’s so bad that nothing but a jail sentence will suffice.”
Sentencing | four-month custodial suspended for three years; £500 towards costs. Banned from keeping or owning any animals for 10 years (expires January 2036).
CONVICTED (2025) | Aoife McDowell, born c. 1995, previously of 15 Bell Street Manor, Dunmurry, Belfast BT17 0WE and now of Woodside, Poleglass, Belfast BT17 – abandoned her XL bully without food or water in a house covered in excrement.
Drug addict Aoife McDowell left a young XL bully to starve to death in her filthy abandoned home.
McDowell pleaded guilty to cruelty offences following a Belfast City Council prosecution. The case was in relation to a female XL Bully left unattended for around nine days. It is believed the female dog was immediately put to sleep due to her poor condition.
McDowell with the victim as a puppy.
A neighbour near McDowell’s old address on Bell Steel Manor, west Belfast, contacted local authority animal welfare in November 2024 after hearing prolonged barking and crying.
The neighbour told council staff the dog had been left unattended in the house for nine days, apart from a 15-minute visit.
When welfare officers attended the property, they found the dog in a “very poor” condition.
They said the animal was “barking inside without food or water available” and they left a note for McDowell to contact them immediately.
The animal welfare officers visited the following day, and again several days later, only to find the dog left in the same conditions and without access to either food or water.
After gaining a court order to access the property, they were confronted with a horrifying scene.
“Every room was covered in faeces, rubbish and clutter,” prosecutors said, with the animal having “chewed through furniture and tins of food” in search of sustenance.
They continued: “Chewing the tins may have damaged the animal’s mouth, and a vet assessed the dog as experiencing suffering.”
The court heard in mitigation that cocaine- and pregabalin-addicted McDowell was in a “violent and controlling relationship” at the time.
Sentencing | eight-month custodial sentence for causing unnecessary suffering and a four-month sentence for abandonment, to run concurrently and suspended for 12 months; ordered to pay £400 towards costs. Banned from keeping animals for 15 years (expires 2040).
In March 2022 McDowell appeared in court to face charges of robbery, causing grievous bodily harm, theft and possession of cannabis. This followed an attack on a 95-year-old charity collector, during which the victim sustained a fractured left shoulder and extensive facial injuries. Police said the attack was motivated by McDowell’s need to fund her drug addiction. McDowell denied the charges and the outcome of the case isn’t known.
Elizabeth Razib left her black Labrador to suffer and die, then claimed she “didn’t know if he was alive or dead.”
Case Summary
On 30 April 2025, independent court reporter Inside the Courtroom NI (Paul Higgins) reported that Elizabeth Catriona Razib, (née Elizabeth Madden),37, of David Street, North Belfast, pleaded guilty to three offences relating to the suffering, abandonment and improper disposal of a black Labrador‑type dog.
Razib admitted causing unnecessary suffering between September and November 2023, abandoning the dog on 22 November, and failing to dispose of a dead animal.
Her defence claimed she “did not know whether the dog was alive or dead” and was unable to care for herself at the time.
Sentencing was adjourned to June 2025, but no follow‑up has ever been published, and the final outcome remains unknown.
Offender Overview
Name: Elizabeth Catriona Razib (née Elizabeth Madden) Born: circa 1988 Age at Conviction: 37 Last Known Address: David Street, North Belfast BT13 2DD Occupation: Unknown Previous Convictions: Unknown
Defence claimed she was unable to care for herself and unaware of whether the dog was alive or dead.
Case Summary
On 30 April 2025, Inside the Courtroom NI reported that Elizabeth Razib appeared at Belfast Magistrates’ Court to contest three charges relating to a black Labrador‑type dog. Instead of proceeding to contest, Razib entered guilty pleas to all counts.
Count 1: Causing unnecessary suffering to a black Labrador‑type dog between 15 September and 22 November 2023. Count 2: Abandoning the dog on 22 November 2023. Count 3: Failing to dispose of a dead animal on the same date.
No background facts were opened in court.
Defence counsel Michael Halleron stated Razib “wasn’t able to even look after herself” and “didn’t know whether the dog was alive or dead.”
District Judge Anne Marshall described the charges as serious and adjourned sentencing until 11 June 2025 for a pre‑sentence report. No subsequent reporting has confirmed the outcome.
Incident Details
Date Range of Offending: 15 September – 22 November 2023
Location: David Street, North Belfast
Responding Authority: Belfast Magistrates’ Court
Key Points:
Dog suffered prolonged unnecessary suffering.
Dog was abandoned while Razib claimed she did not know if it was alive or dead.
Failure to dispose of the deceased dog.
No factual background disclosed in court.
Sentencing outcome unknown due to lack of follow‑up reporting.
Animal Victims
Black Labrador‑type dog — suffered prolonged neglect and unnecessary suffering; abandoned; deceased; not properly disposed of.
Sentence
Court: Belfast Magistrates’ Court Date: Adjourned to 11 June 2025 Penalty: Unknown (no follow‑up reporting available)
Mitigation:
Defence claimed Razib was unable to care for herself and unaware of whether the dog was alive or dead.
CONVICTED (2024) | unlicensed backyard bully breeder Joseph McWilliams aka Joseph Martin, of Upper Meadow Street, New Lodge, North Belfast BT15 2FR – for cruelty to a dog found with an untreated facial wound.
McWilliams, who sold American bullies under the name ‘Jays Bullys‘ was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog at his address in north Belfast.
He was also convicted of operating a dog breeding establishment without a licence from the same address.
His convictions followed a prosecution by Belfast City Council.
McWilliams with partner Ashleen Moyes, who was not prosecuted.
Council animal welfare officers visited McWilliams’ home on Upper Meadow Street on Monday 1 August 2022 and removed a bully type dog with an untreated wound to the muzzle. The dog was taken for examination by a veterinarian and had to undergo emergency surgery.
Several dogs and puppies were found at a neighbouring address on Upper Meadow Street on 2 August 2022.
Sentencing | a total of 14 months in jail suspended for 12 months for animal cruelty and the offence of operating a dog breeding establishment without a licence; legal and other costs totalling £722. Disqualified from owning all animals for 10 years (expires August 2034).
CONVICTED (2024) | Toni O’Neill, born May 1990, of Strathroy Park, Ardoyne, North Belfast BT14 7LP – left a cat unattended and without food and water for at least 72 hours.
In June 2024, Belfast City Council received complaints that a cat had been left unattended at O’Neill’s home for several days.
Animal welfare officers entered the property under warrant and seized an underweight cat with no proper access to food and water.
The unnamed cat was taken for examination by a veterinarian who determined that he was suffering from malnutrition.
The fate of the cat was not reported.
Sentencing | four-month prison sentence suspended for one year; legal and other costs totalling £181. Disqualified from owning animals for just two years (expired August 2026).
CONVICTED (2023) | puppy farmers / traffickers Tom Paul Mongan, born c. 1995, of 4 Mill Pond Glen, Poleglass, Dunmurry, Belfast BT17 0XX, and William Joseph Mongan, aka William Ward, born 9 October 1983, of 6 Ardcaoin Grove, Poleglass, Dunmurry, Belfast BT17 0US
Brothers Tom Mongan (left) and William Mongan sold sick puppies from rented Glasgow flats leaving a trail of misery in their wake
Notorious puppy farmer/trafficker Tom Mongan, who in May 2023 was convicted for similar charges in Northern Ireland, and brother William Mongan, sold dogs online from rented Airbnb properties across Glasgow.
The dogs were found in poor shape and were discovered living in unsanitary conditions by SSPCA inspectors.
Some of the 11 pets the pair were responsible for were later put down due to ill health.
Tom Mongan pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to three charges of causing unnecessary suffering while William Mongan admitted two charges.
The charges spanned between December 2020 and February 2021.
The brothers – who are of the Irish traveller community – were sentenced to nine months in jail each by Sheriff Mark McGuire.
He said: “Each of you pled guilty to what can be described as animal cruelty on 11 separate dogs.
“What I heard is what the public would know as puppy farming.
“It must have been obvious the dogs were unwell and the conditions they were kept in was poor – you took no steps to get help for these animals.
“The motivation was for financial gain – each dog was priced at over £1,000.
“It was clearly greed and it brought unimaginable misery to those who unfortunately bought them.
“I am satisfied there is no other appropriate sentence than custody.”
Tom Mongan with wife Ellie Marie Mongan. The charges against her and Brigid Marie Mongan, sister of Tom and Edward, were dropped during court proceedings
Despite facing prosecution for similar offences in Northern Ireland, Tom Mongan went on to rent out a number of Airbnb properties in Glasgow for the purposes of selling more dogs.
He advertised a springer spaniel puppy on website PetsForHomes which was answered by a man.
He met Tom at an address and was shown a vaccination card for the puppy who was lying on a couch.
He paid Tom £1,600 in separate transactions to purchase the puppy later named Bella.
Tom contacted the man the following day to ask when he would pick up the dog.
Prosecutor Gail Campbell said: “[The man] told him that they picked up the puppy and was then blocked by Tom Mongan on the website.”
The man also noticed that the puppy had diarrhoea and was lethargic with parvovirus suspected by a vet.
The decision was made to euthanize Bella days later due to her ill health.
Ms Campbell added: “The vet thought that the dog was caused unnecessary suffering.
“[The man] contacted Tom Mongan on Facebook to tell him the puppy had died but he blocked him.”
A woman purchased a Pomeranian puppy from Tom in similar circumstances which was named Abbie.
The dog vomited and also had diarrhoea which included live worms.
Abbie was taken to the vet where she was noted to have done the toilet on herself and could stand on her own.
Abbie was also euthanized with a post mortem finding that she suffered from parvovirus.
A man and woman purchased a Beagle later named Freya from Tom.
She was later noted to have no appetite, vomited and had diarrhoea. Freya also passed away from her condition.
The woman contacted Tom but received no reply.
SSPCA inspectors and police raised of the addresses on January 28 2021 and found Tom Mongan, William Mongan and eight puppies within.
A spaniel puppy was noted to be “distressed”, as well as lethargic and could not lift her head.
Another spaniel puppy and a Pomeranian were also found to be in a “visibly poor condition.”
A puddle of clear yellow fluid, believed to be diarrhoea was found on the floor of one of the bedrooms.
The puppies were seized and only four of them were linked to microchips.
A vet stated that all the puppies were in poor condition and should have received veterinary care. One of the dogs was put down.
Grubby family enterprise: Brigid Mongan with brother William Mongan. The case against her did not proceed
Over a week later, William Mongan was visited by the SSPCA who received information beagle puppies were being sold.
Four puppies were found inside including a beagle puppy who was in a poor condition.
A border collie described as being “extremely unwell” was noted to be lying in her own urine and faeces.
William threatened legal action on one of the SSPCA inspectors who seized the puppies
Ms Campbell added: “The inspector has not been contacted by a lawyer.”
Atlanta Jack, defending Tom, told the sentencing her client was involved for financial gain.
The lawyer added: “He expresses his regret for the people who purchased the puppies and he is apologetic for the upset and inconvenience caused.”
Patrick Brechany, defending William, stated his client is a gardener by trade who is “remorseful and “regretful.”
Mr Brechany denied that William was a “puppy farmer” but sold dogs who were puppy farmed.
Sheriff McGuire banned the two men, of Belfast, from keeping animals for ten years.
Sentencing | nine-month custodial; 10-year ban applicable to all animals.
In April 2023 Irish newspaper Sunday World published an article on “convicted fraudster” William Mongan in which they described how neighbours of the vile Mongans had to take action to stop newborn puppies bred by the family from dying. The article revealed how people living in the same street as William Mongan had been going into his back yard to feed two very young cocker spaniel puppies he had left in a shed. Concerned neighbours told the Sunday World reporter how the puppies cried 24 hours a day for food and attention.
Abandoned puppies only survived thanks to the intervention of kindly neighbours of William Mongan aka William Ward
“He dropped the puppies off … and he left and has only been seen back once since then and even then he didn’t get out of his van,” said one concerned neighbour.
“He doesn’t live here very much and he hasn’t been seen much but nobody can understand why he’d abandon two vulnerable young puppies like this in his yard.
“The poor things have been whining constantly because he didn’t leave any food for them. They are far too young to be away from their mother.
“It’s maybe hard to understand how distressing it is to have to listen to young puppies crying 24 hours a day because they are starving and missing their mum.
“Loads of neighbours have complained to Belfast City Council’s animal welfare department as well as the USPCA but nobody seems to be doing anything.”
CONVICTED (2023) | puppy farmer/trafficker Tom Paul Mongan, born c. 1995, of 4 Mill Pond Glen, Poleglass, Dunmurry, Belfast BT17 0XX – tried to transport 16 puppies from Northern Ireland to England by squeezing them into the boot of his car.
Irish traveller Tom Mongan – head of a notorious gang of puppy breeders and traffickers based in the Poleglass area of Dunmurry, Belfast – pleaded guilty to being the keeper of 16 puppies to whom he caused unnecessary suffering.
Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard he was stopped on October 1, 2020 as he attempted to board a ferry to Liverpool.
Harbour Police officers discovered and seized a total of 16 puppies, including chihuahuas, spaniels and beagles, within the boot of his Ford Kuga.
“They had been squeezed into two crates that were too small, lying on top of each other,” a prosecution lawyer said.
“Several pups were in a small blue plastic crate, lying on a filthy pillow covered in faeces.
“There was no food or water available for the puppies for the eight-hour journey in which the defendant would have no access to the vehicle.”
Veterinary examinations established that at least some of the dogs were less than six weeks old and showing signs of disease.
One of the animals who appeared particularly weak was diagnosed with water on the brain and later had to be put to sleep.
A vet stated that the pups should not have been sold until properly weaned and vaccinated.
Even at that stage any transportation should have been by the shortest possible ferry crossing, the court was told.
Defence solicitor Adrian Harvey said his client had been distressed by photographs of the seized puppies.
“Mr Mongan would say that he was engaged in doing this simply for money,” he submitted.
“Other family members asked him to embark on this journey, he had no experience whatsoever with dogs and no knowledge of their requirements and needs.”
Mr Harvey added: “It was very distressing to go through those reports, and he accepts full responsibility for what he has done.”
District Judge George Conner told Mongan that the offence carried a maximum penalty of 12 months imprisonment.
“This is a very serious matter,” he stressed.
Despite the judge’s stern warnings, Mogan walked free from court with a community service order.
Sentencing | 100 hours of community service; ordered to pay £680 towards costs. Disqualified from owning dogs or transporting any animals for a 10-year period (expires May 2033).
Tom and Ellie Mongan plus Brigid ‘Biddy’ Mongan and William Mongan
Tom Mongan is one of four defendants facing prosecution for cruelty to animals in Scotland.
The allegations are that he kept four ill pets at a property in Glasgow’s Shawlands and Tollcross between December 2020 and February 2021.
Court papers say that he failed to keep the dogs in a clean condition and a suitable environment.
It is stated that he did not vaccinate dogs Bella, Albi and Freya – all now deceased – as well as “a number of other dogs.”
Some of the animals were described as having worm burden, poor coat and body conditions as well as parvovirus.
Tom’s siblings William Mongan, born c. 1983 (address tbc), and Brigid Mongan, born c. 1993, of 11 Brians Well Grove, Dunmurry, Belfast BT17 0YQ face similar charges at the Tollcross property between the same dates.
The parvovirus which the dogs allegedly suffered from is what ended their lives, the charge states.
Brigid Mongan faces a further allegation of causing a dog named Reggie unnecessary suffering at the Shawlands property on the same dates.
Reggie is stated to have had a poor coat and body condition, parasitic infestation, haemorrhagic diarrhoea as well as parvovirus.
A final charge states the trio as well as co-accused Ellie Marie Mongan (Tom Mongan’s wife), born c. 1993,, caused unnecessary suffering to dogs at a property in the city’s Ibrox between January and February 2021.
The dogs are also said to have been suffering from similar symptoms such as parasitic infestation and parvovirus.
The four pleaded not guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
At time of publication, the trial is ongoing with the ring’s most recent court appearance being in April 2023.
CONVICTED (2022) | Ryan Schlaubitz, age unknown, of Ballysillan Crescent, North Belfast BT14 8HR – threw a kitten against a wall.
Kitten abuser Ryan Schlaubitz
In a Belfast City Council prosecution case that took five years to come to court, former postman Schlaubitz was convicted of failing to ensure the welfare of a kitten and causing unnecessary suffering to a kitten at an address at Ballysillan Crescent in 2017.
According to newspaper reports the kitten sustained injuries to his or her face and “later required veterinary treatment”. It’s not known if the kitten survived.
Schlaubitz, whose now defunct LinkedIn profile described as a “parcel courier”, was given a suspended prison sentence and five-year ban on keeping animals Iexpires October 2027). He was also ordered to pay costs of £176.
CONVICTED (2022) | drug dealer Marcus McMillan, born 13 June 1995, of Benmore Drive, Finaghy, west Belfast – kept 10 dogs with horrendous facial injuries in outdoor pens.
McMillan pleaded guilty to one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to five dogs and one charge of failing to meet the needs of five dogs under the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. He was prosecuted by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.
The 10 severely injured terriers were discovered in kennels during a drug raid by PSNI officers of McMillan’s farm yard in Drumlough Road between Royal Hillsborough and Anahilt.
Police immediately called animal welfare officers and a vet, but when McMillan was asked to sign over the animals to their care he refused.
The dogs were then seized over fears they may suffer further harm. When McMillan was cautioned by animal welfare officers he admitted he was the sole owner of the animals.
The court was told that one of the dogs was so severely injured she had to have her jaw surgically reconstructed while another was missing her nose.
Another had its his ripped off by force, a second had a staple lodged in his head in a suspected attempt to hold a tissue wound closed and another was missing his nose.
Many of the dogs had active infections, with one found with a hole between the inside of her mouth and the outside of her chin which appeared to be a recent wound.
The prosecution lawyer said there was no evidence of any of the dogs being given treatment or pain relief, with one of the animals found with injuries that would cause pain “with every lick and bite”.
She added that all of the dogs had since been re-homed except for two which were stolen from the sanctuary where they were being held.
Police also found a combined total of more than 100 tablets of pregablin (also known as Lyrica) and temazepam.
Just under £4,400 in cash was also seized with McMillan admitting at the scene that the drugs belonged to him.
McMillan was charged with two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to animals, failing to take reasonable care of the dogs, two counts of possession of class C drugs and one count of possession of criminal property.
He pleaded guilty to all charges bar the one relating to criminal property charge, but was convicted of that as well.
The costs of treatment and care of the animals came to £5,814, according to the lawyer.
Describing the images of the dogs’ injuries as “horrendous”, Judge Watters asked if it was known what caused them.
An animal welfare officer said they were caused by hunting but couldn’t say for certain if they were caused by foxes or badgers.
McMillan’s barrister said he claims the injuries were sustained by hunting foxes and not badger baiting and said he has since expressed “genuine remorse” for what happened to the dogs.
For causing unnecessary suffering to the 10 dogs McMillan was jailed for five months, along with five months for failing to take reasonable care of the animals.
On the two charges of possession of class C drugs he was sentenced to three months in prison, with five months for possession of criminal property.
McMillan will serve the terms concurrently and will have to pay a total of £6,048 in council costs.
Sentencing | five months’ imprisonment. Lifetime ban on keeping animals. Lisburn Council was awarded full costs of £6048.
