Lawyer for woman accused of throwing dog out car window says animal jumped out

The lawyer for the Wilton woman accused of throwing her dog out of a moving car addressed the allegations Wednesday, saying the animal actually jumped out.

News 12 Staff

May 27, 2021, 12:20 AM

Updated 1,205 days ago

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The lawyer for the Wilton woman accused of throwing her dog out of a moving car addressed the allegations Wednesday, saying the animal actually jumped out.
Helen Skulski, 56, was arrested in March after a witness said she saw her violently toss a beagle from her moving car on Connecticut Avenue in Norwalk.
Attorney Mark Phillips says the grandmother is a dog lover.
"The information that came out initially in the case obviously was not complete and portrayed my client as a monster," he says. "In fact, the body camera videos of the police going into ther house to remove the dog - which is like a child to her - show dog paraphernalia - dog pictures, the pillows have dogs on them."
Skulski pleaded not guilty to an animal cruelty charge.
Phillips says on the day in question, the Skulski family's 1-year-old dog, Jackie, was in the back seat of their car with the windows open after a trip to the dog park.
He says at some point, Jackie jumped out - though neither the defendant nor her husband realized it. When they did, Phillips tells News 12 the couple returned to the dog park to enlist the help of others.
Then, after that, they called police as well.
"The stories just don't add up as to somebody who, in broad daylight, would take a dog and throw it down on the side of the road in front of witnesses and whatnot and speed away," says Phillips. "There's nothing else that belies that information."
Police say security camera video from the area shows an object leaving the right side of the car at the time of the alleged incident, but Phillips says even enhanced, it's too blurry to confirm anyone's story.
"I think this is one of those cases that is not what it seems," Phillips says.
The woman who witnessed what happened says she stopped her car on that day, saved the dog and called 911.
Police say the dog had some scratches and no real injuries. They also noted in a report the dog appeared to be healthy and clean.