Dec 19, 2023 By Mike Jones 2 min read

The preliminary hearing scheduled this afternoon for Washington County Controller April Sloane, who is charged with neglecting her dog and allegedly causing its death, is being delayed.

The hearing that was set to begin at 1 p.m. at District Judge Michael Manfredi’s office in North Strabane is being continued to a later date and will be held at Central Court inside the Washington County Courthouse, according to court officials.

Sloane was arrested Dec. 12 and charged with felony animal cruelty after North Strabane police said she neglected her dog, Thor, and kept the animal in “deplorable conditions” inside her township home, leading to its death.

Police said the dog went days without food and water before it died of “severe emaciation” on Nov. 27. An anonymous tip sent to the Washington Area Humane Society on Dec. 5 prompted North Strabane police officers to search her home the following day, where they found the animal’s carcass stuffed in a trash bag located in the corner of her garage.

A new date for Sloane’s preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled. Her attorney, Louis Emmi, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Sloane, 43, is free on $150,000 unsecured bond. The Republican was elected to office in 2021 and her four-year term runs through the end of 2025.