Woman who reportedly killed bulldog with baseball bat during break-in gets probation
A Wichita woman will spend two years on probation for a 2018 home break-in where she reportedly bludgeoned a bulldog to death with a baseball bat.
A witness told police that Hilda J. Noordhoek killed the pet “because she was mad that ... (the man who owned it) was seeing another woman,” according to an arrest affidavit released in the case. Noordhoek and the man had been involved in a relationship, the document says.
She was arrested and charged in 2019.
Authorities say Noordhoek used a brick from her own yard to smash a window of the man’s home on April 22, 2018, and went inside where she stole a computer and headphones. She also allegedly beat the dog in the head, ribs and abdomen with the bat, causing fatal injuries, according to court records.
Police used a license plate reader program to match Noordhoek’s car to one captured on security surveillance cameras outside of the victim’s house the night of the burglary, the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release. Officers also relied on an anonymous tip identifying Noordhoek as the burglar and the person who killed the dog, according to the affidavit.
During her initial police interview, Noordhoek denied going into the house the night the crimes occurred, the affidavit says.
The 32-year-old pleaded no contest in February to counts of burglary, theft and cruelty to animals. Her lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Because Noordhoek had minimal criminal history prior to this case, under Kansas law her most serious charge — burglary — carries a presumption of probation, the DA’s office said. Sedgwick County District Court Judge Kevin Mark Smith sentenced her on Wednesday to 24 months of probation, which carries an underlying prison term of 13 months as well as 12 months in jail. She could be ordered to serve those sentences if she breaks any rules while on probation, which include avoiding drugs and alcohol, holding a full-time job and completing an anger management class.
As a condition of being granted probation on the animal cruelty count, she is also required to immediately serve a 30-day jail sanction, according to court records and the DA’s office. The judge also ordered Noordhoek to obtain substance abuse and mental health evaluations and follow any recommendations tied to a psychological evaluation. In addition, she has to pay $3,236.99 to the dog’s owner and write him an apology letter.
She can’t have pets except any she already owns and can’t be alone with other people’s animals, under the judge’s order.
This story was originally published April 21, 2021 at 4:24 PM.
