Evesham man arrested in stabbing death of a man and his dog

After showing up to an emergency room for treatment, a 25-year-old Evesham man was arrested and charged with murder for fatally stabbing a 26-year-old man and his dog.

The Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office said township police were initially called on Saturday, Feb. 5, to investigate a “possible dog attack” but when officers arrived at Olympus Apartments on Baker Boulevard in Evesham, at 9:13 a.m., they found Thomas Pierson III, 26, dead of multiple stab wounds.

The victim’s dog, a Cane Corso named Django, had also been stabbed to death. Cane Corso is a canine breed similar to the American Pit Bull Terrier.

Officials said Donovan G. Hollingsworth, 25, was charged with murder and was being held at the Burlington County Jail.

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said Hollingsworth and Pierson knew each other, and the two men apparently got into an altercation at a residence in the apartments complex around 9:15 a.m.

Police found Pierson’s lifeless body in the apartment and Django dead on a stairwell landing.

About three hours after the stabbings, Hollingsworth went to the Emergency Department at the Virtua Voorhees Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Township police arrested him there shortly after noon. Hollingsworth was being held in the Burlington County Jail, pending a detention hearing. He was charged with Murder (First Degree) and two counts of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose (Third Degree and Fourth Degree).

An autopsy on Pierson is expected to be performed by the Burlington County Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday.

Potential charges related to Django’s death await further investigation into the incident.

The investigation is ongoing, and being handled by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the Evesham Township Police Department.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Burlington County Central Communications at 609-265-7113 or the Evesham Police Department’s confidential tip line at 609-983-4699, or send an email to Facebook@eveshampd.org or tips@co.burlington.nj.us.