Veterinarian found dead at home

BOARDMAN — A veterinarian who had been accused of placing his 4-year-old son in a dog crate was found dead of an apparent suicide.

A co-worker from Animal Charity went to Joseph Mullarkey’s Sylvia Lane house Monday morning to check on him when Mullarkey didn’t show up to work.

The co-worker called police when he couldn’t contact Mullarkey. Police saw Mullarkey sitting on a couch inside the home, not moving. Firefighters forced entry into the home, finding Mullarkey deceased with a vial of a muscle relaxant drug and a hypodermic needle nearby.

Mullarkey, 39, was sentenced last month to a year probation after pleading guilty to attempted child endangering, a misdemeanor.

At the time of his sentencing, Mullarkey’s attorney had said that in November the veterinarian placed his son into the plastic dog crate as a punishment. He had only intended it to be for a few minutes, the attorney said, but fell asleep and was awakened by his wife a couple hours later. The boy wasn’t injured.