A tragic incident in Boston has left the community in shock after a dog and its owner were deliberately run over, according to court proceedings. The victim, 79-year-old art collector John Axelrod, was taking a stroll with his dog, Tale, and a friend when the alleged attack occurred.
Witnesses reported hearing the small dog’s cries of pain followed by a loud crash, as detailed by the Boston Globe. Both Axelrod and Tale were tragically killed in the incident, which has left the local community mourning the loss.
In court, Dr. Heather Jackson, a psychologist, provided testimony that raised questions about the mental state of 42-year-old William Haney Jr., the man accused of the crime. Dr. Jackson observed behaviors during her evaluation that suggested Haney might be struggling with mental health issues.
During the assessment, Haney reportedly exhibited unusual behavior, such as smiling and frequently looking around, which led Dr. Jackson to suspect he might be experiencing auditory hallucinations. Although Haney denied hearing voices, Dr. Jackson noted he seemed to be reacting to unseen stimuli throughout the evaluation.
He was ‘smiling’ and ‘looking around the room constantly’ while she evaluated him as ‘if he was hearing auditory hallucinations,’ she testified.
‘While he denied auditory hallucinations, he appeared to be responding to stimuli throughout the evaluation,’ she reportedly told the court.
‘He expressed numerous paranoid delusions.’
Haney’s brother also told the doctor that his medication had been changed in August, and that Haney had been having difficulty ‘understanding the difference between reality and fantasy,’ she said in court.
John Axelrod, 79, was out walking his dog, Tale, with a friend when he was hit and killed
Dr Heather Jackson testified that Haney (pictured) was ‘smiling’ and ‘looking around the room constantly’
Haney – who appeared in court in an untuck, rumpled shirt – could also not identify his attorney by name, the doctor said.
Despite that, prosecutors alleged that Haney deliberately hit Axelrod and it was not a random hit-and-run.
‘This was not a motor vehicle accident. It was deliberate and premeditated murder,’ prosecutor Ursula Knight said in court, according to The Globe.
Haney’s attorney Keith Halpern, however, argued his client might have mistaken Axelrod for someone else, as he was ‘not aware of any evidence that he knew Mr. Axelrod.’
After allegedly hitting Axelrod, Haney’s car was seen pulling into a Dunkin Donuts, where he was ‘seen removing what looked like a rope from the front grill of the SUV and tossing it in the direction of a garbage can,’ Knight said.
It was later discovered that the object was the dog’s leash with the animal’s name on it, The Globe reported.
Haney then abandoned the vehicle further down the road before meeting up with his brother, where his sibling drove him to the Brookline police station and reported the 42-year-old had been in an accident.
Haney was charged with murder and animal cruelty, but Halpern is hoping the court will drop the murder charge after hearing his psychiatric evaluation results.
Axelrod was strolling with a friend near the Commonwealth Avenue Mall (pictured) when he was killed
Haney was later seen getting out of his car at a Dunkin Donuts and throwing away a rope-like object that prosecutors allege was the dog’s leash with his name on it (pictured: Axelrod, Tale, and a friend)
A not-guilty plea was entered in on Haney’s behalf.
Haney appeared motionless in court as the judge ordered him to be held without bail. He is due back in court on January 23.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Haney’s lawyer for comment.
Axelrod was known as a ‘generous supporter and passionate advocate for underrepresented artists,’ the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) said in a statement.
The benefactor had been deeply invested in the museum since the 1980s, and his death has rocked the local artistic community.
‘His legacy will live on at the museum through the John Axelrod Collection – a transformative acquisition of nearly 70 works by Black artists,’ the MFA said.
The John Axelrod Gallery in the Art of the Americas Wing was dedicated to him in 2009, standing as a tribute to his undying legacy.
Axelrod was an art collector who was deeply invested in the city’s art scene
Part of a current exhibition in the John Axelrod Gallery at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, where he has donated more than 700 pieces since 2014
The collector’s first work was donated to the museum in 1985, per the Globe, and his gifted pieces covered areas he felt were underrepresented and didn’t get the attention they deserved.
Axelrod had donated more than 700 pieces, the museum said in 2014.
He was an early collector of art made by black artists, and the museum obtained 67 pieces from Axelrod. The collector felt their pieces were vital for telling the story of American art and the museum’s collection by him was a game changer, The Globe said.
‘I learned very quickly never to question John’s eye,’ Nonie Gadsden, the museum’s senior curator, told The Globe.
‘He was always ahead of the museums and the curators and even the marketplace. He just had a way of identifying important objects.’
The 79-year-old was a New Jersey native who was a student at the Phillips Academy.
He went on to study at Yale University and Harvard Law School.
The art enthusiast had a love for dogs. His Facebook page is filled with dog photos, including ones with him and Tale.
