Inside the horrifying murder of beloved dog dumped at sea

One week after their beloved dog was lured from their home, a family found his body dumped in the sea near their home. WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT.

Behind Koby's brutal murder. Picture: Supplied

After a heart-wrenching seven days missing, Brighton dog Koby was found dumped in the sea less than a 10 minute drive from their home.

We have the story of how this brutal ordeal played out from the perspective of those that loved Koby the most: Kyle Hornsveld and Tori Hornsveld, children of Denise Hornsveld and David Hornsveld, Koby’s grieving owners.

Koby was described a “loving, old soul”. Picture: Supplied

The four-year-old American staffordshire cross wolfhound always had a love of adventure, with his family driving to NSW just to meet him.

Just six months ago he met his best friend, Luka, when Ms Hornsveld brought her puppy into the family.

Inseparable, Ms Hornsveld said Koby was so much happier with Luka in his life.

“He was a bit lonely before meeting Luka, which is why they got along so well.”

Now without his best friend for nearly two weeks, Luka is quiet and not going outside much. A stark difference to the playful pup Luka was when he had his best friend.

The street Koby was taken from backed onto a large creek, with multiple homes on the street built on acreage. Picture: Google Images

Koby escaped his home often. He had a sense of adventure that couldn’t be contained.

“We have an acreage block and compared to a normal yard it is harder to keep him contained with fencing,” Ms Hornsveld said.

“Quite a few people return him from up the street. He’s such an old soul and everyone kind of knew he was harmless.

“He loved life.”

Koby was so well known that his family started collecting pictures sent of his various adventures in the neighbourhood. Picture: Supplied

Witness statements have said Koby was lured from the home with cuddles by two men aged in their 40s to 50s.

“The description was they spent time approaching the dog, patted him, tried to give him a cuddle and lured him towards the car,” Ms Hornsveld said.

There were multiple break-ins in the area in the month leading up to Koby’s disappearance.

On the day of Koby’s disappearance, Ms Hornsveld said when she woke up to go to work Luka was lying in the front yard looking what she could only describe as “odd”.

“Normally they were running around and jumping over you,” she said.

Koby was loved by anyone that met him. Picture: Supplied

“I was looking for Koby and realised he was gone.”

Unlike in Koby’s other adventures the gates were closed. The large dog usually pushed his way through the gate when he was ready to explore.

“When we realised he was missing we posted to all the local community groups on social media and spoke to our neighbours,” she said.

“We checked his normal adventure spots and realised he wasn’t there.

“Normally within half an hour he’s found and we are messaged on social media.”

An AI-generated image of dog spotted with the two suspicious men

The witness added the men had a large black dog with white markings on its chest was spotted with them. No similar dogs matching the description been reported missing in the area.

A neighbour a few houses away from the family sent the CCTV footage of a red car the men got into with Koby and the other dog.

Beloved dog Koby was found deceased yesterday. Picture: Supplied

On Sunday a fisherman discovered a bloated dog floating near a fishing platform halfway through Hornibrook Bridge.

Leonie Purnell posted a picture of a deceased dog with torn skin on the Moreton Bay Lost and Found Pets group on Facebook on Sunday.

“My husband and I had been fishing at the pontoon just off Hornibrook Bridge and on the way back across the bridge we noticed this poor baby deceased in the low tide,” the post read.

Koby was found dumped in the water at low tide with parts of his skin torn off. Photo: Supplied

Once the collar was confirmed to be Koby’s the family then had the gruelling task of locating Koby’s body and taking him home.

Ms Hornsveld asked the simple question when he was found, “why wasn’t he eaten?”

The water Koby was discovered in is known for bull sharks. Based on this, Ms Hornsveld suspects Koby was recently dumped.

Koby was discovered initially just off the Hornibrook Bridge at a fishing platoon. Picture: Google Images

When the family went to retrieve Koby the water was at high tide so they were unable to get to him.

At low tide, despite searching for hours, they couldn’t locate his body.

Just yesterday Koby’s body was discovered once again, but this time closer to their home.

There was no change in Koby’s physical condition the second time he was discovered compared to when he was spotted on the weekend.

No animals had attacked him in that time, which, in an area with hundreds of bull sharks, Ms Hornsveld believes is suspicious.

The blue area circled is where Koby was found the second time, with the blue dot at the top of the image denoting the street Koby was taken from. Picture: Supplied

“We wrapped him as best as we could,” she said.

“We put him in the car and he was still bleeding out of his mouth.”

The family took his body to the Brighton Veterinary Clinic, who, after scanning the microchip, confirmed the dead dog was Koby.

Due to the amount of time Koby was in the water and the general degradation of his body, an autopsy was unable to be performed.

Ms Hornveld asked for those living near Holmes Street, Lascelles Street and North Road in Brighton to check their CCTV footage on July 22 between 2pm and 3pm.

Queensland police confirmed they were investigating, and urged anyone with information or relevant CCTV or dashcam footage to contact Policelink on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Originally published as Inside the horrifying murder of beloved dog dumped at sea