Woman Stabbed Dog to Death, Bit Multiple People After Breaking into Pa. Home, Gets Up to 12 Years

Breanna Englert pleaded guilty to eight charges including recklessly endangering another person, simple assault and cruelty to animals

A Pennsylvania woman was sentenced this week months after breaking into a family’s home, biting multiple people and stabbing a dog to death.

Breanna Englert was sentenced Tuesday morning on eight criminal charges — including recklessly endangering another person, simple assault and cruelty to animals — related to the home invasion, which took place this past April in South Renovo.

Prosecutors said that Englert, 26, was believed to be under the influence of drugs when she broke into the home and was confronted by the homeowners and a neighbor, according to a news release from the Clinton County District Attorney’s Office this week.

Englert bit the two victims and attacked the homeowner’s dog with a knife, causing the animal to have seizures and die a short time after the stabbing.

"Ms. Englert should thank her lucky stars that she is still alive today, because in many of the other homes in Clinton County that she could have broken into, she would have died that night," district attorney Dave Strouse said at Tuesday’s sentencing.

One of the homeowners, a retired school teacher, also told the court that Englert’s break-in has left her grandchildren traumatized.

“You invited us into your world, we never invited you into ours,” the victim told the court, according to the district attorney’s office. “You broke into our house with a knife." 

The victim added: "If it wasn't for our neighbors, I don't know what would have happened. I truly believe our neighbors saved our lives that night."

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Engert pleaded guilty to the eight charges related to her arrest in October. She tearfully apologized to the victims in court on Tuesday, according to the district attorney’s office, asking the court to let her complete a drug rehabilitation program, insisting her addiction to prescription drugs and methamphetamine were the primary cause of her criminal history, according to the DA's office.

Clinton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael F. Salisbury sentenced Englert to a 12-year maximum sentence with the eligibility for parole after three and a half years. During Englert's sentencing, Judge Salisbury cited her two prior convictions for simple assault, according to the district attorney’s office.

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