Man Being Held by Authorities After Missing Dog Breeder Is Found Slain. But Where Are the Victim's Puppies?

Mar. 15, 2025

Paul Peavey.Photo:Elite European Dobermans

Elite European Dobermans

A 36-year-old man is being held in connection with themurder of a Colorado dog breeder, whose body was found on his mountain property on Aug. 24.

Sergio Ferrer faces charges of first-degree murder after deliberation and aggravated felony robbery in connection to the slaying of 57-year-old Paul Peavey, according to the Office of the District Attorney of the Fifth Judicial District.

Karrer says he has not yet entered a plea to the charges or been bonded.

A litter of Paul Peavey’s European Dobermans.Elite European Dobermans

Peavey was last heard from on the night of Aug. 19 and reported missing two days later, according to the Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office. A private search party found Peavey fatally shot on his grounds.

The local coroner has ruled his death a homicide, per the sheriff’s office which said in apress releasesay that “the time of death is consistent with the timeframe that Mr. Peavey was last heard from.”

Ferrer was arrested at 4:00 p.m. local time on Aug. 24, which was “within hours” of Peavey’s body being discovered, according to the Clear County Sheriff’s Office. The office noted that Ferrer quickly became a “person of interest” in the homicide, but was initially arrested on an “unrelated warrant out of Nebraska” for failure to appear in court on a previous weapons charge.

Local authorities have said they believe that “as many as 10” Doberman puppies missing from the breeder’s property may be key to investigating the killing, per a post they shared onFacebook.

Paul Peavey.Elite European Dobermans

Peavey – who described himself as a longtime “dog lover” – ran the dog breeding companyElite European Dobermans, which per the company’s website produced no more than two litters of puppies each year.

Early in their investigation, authorities – who have not publicly released a motive for the killing – said they believed the whereabouts of the puppies could be connected to the murder.

Appealing to the public onFacebook, the sheriff’s office asked that people who had recently purchased a Doberman pup directly from Peavey or from the general central Colorado area to “check the puppy for a microchip” and contact authorities.

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Investigators noted that whether “you received the puppy that was purchased or if you did not receive the puppy” from Peavey, puppy owners and would-be owners alike should contact the sheriff’s office, who was still trying to narrow down the exact number of missing pups.

On his website, Peavey – who himself owned an American Doberman and “mutt rescues” – said that in addition to his breeding business, he had walked local rescue dogs and orchestrated visits with the dogs to senior homes and senior rehabilitation centers.

Held at Clear Creek County Jail, Ferrer is slated to return to court at 11 a.m. Sept. 18 for an appearance of counsel in the case, according to Karrer.

He is separately scheduled to make an appearance in another case in Clear Creek County Court on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 11 a.m.

He is additionally charged in a third case as a fugitive of justice in Nebraska, according to Karrer.

If you have information about the investigation into Paul Peavey’s killing and/ or the missing Doberman puppies, you may call the Sheriff’s Office tip line at 303-670-7567 or email at crime_tips@clearcreeksheriff.us, or you may anonymously submit a tip athttps://bit.ly/CCSOCrimeTips.

source: people.com