The 18-year-old babysitter charged with killing a family's pet Chihuahua pleads insanity

Cathy Kozlowicz, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read

The Washington County teen charged with killing a family's 8-year-old Chihuahua entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect on Feb. 28 in Waukesha County Circuit Court, according to online court records.

The dog was found dead under a blanket in the corner of a bedroom at the Sussex family's home on Jan. 26.

Kielee Sonnemann, 18, the family's babysitter, was charged Jan. 29 in Waukesha County Circuit Court with felony mistreatment of animals causing death with the use of a dangerous weapon.

According to online court records, Sonnemann is to have a medical examination to determine if she qualifies for a not guilty by reason of insanity, or NGI, plea. A report is to be filed 10 days before her May 6 review hearing.

Batman, an 8-year-old black Chihuahua, was found dead in a Sussex home on Jan. 26. The family's babysitter, Kielee Sonnemann, faces a felony charge of mistreatment of animals causing death with use of a dangerous weapon. On Feb. 28, she entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in Waukesha County Circuit Court.
Batman, an 8-year-old black Chihuahua, was found dead in a Sussex home on Jan. 26. The family's babysitter, Kielee Sonnemann, faces a felony charge of mistreatment of animals causing death with use of a dangerous weapon. On Feb. 28, she entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

Sonnemann had been in custody at the Waukesha County Jail with a cash bond initially set at $15,000. On Feb. 12, the cash bond was reduced to $2,000, according to online court records. The bond was posted Feb. 15 and Sonnemann is now living in Allenton in Washington County, according to court records.

Sonnemann was released with the stipulation that she is on GPS monitoring, has no possession of dangerous weapons or sharp-edged objects and has no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 or domestic animals.

The mistreatment of animals charge carries a maximum sentence of three and a half years in prison. The use of a dangerous weapon modifier increases that amount to a maximum of seven and a half years.

Sonnemann's attorney, Ricardo Tapia, did not immediately return a call from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on X at @kozlowicz_cathy.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Babysitter accused of killing Sussex family's dog enters insanity plea