d into carriers that were too tight for them. When police asked Sit where his own dog was during the incident, he stated his dog was inside his air-conditioned apartment with him.

Following the deaths, Sit sent clients text messages claiming the dogs  died peacefully  in their sleep overnight, offering refunds and stating the dogs would be cremated.

Sit and Liu then took the bodies to multiple crematory services. While two dogs were successfully cremated, authorities stepped in to prevent the remaining cremations.

What we don't know:

While necropsies confirmed that heat stroke killed eight dogs and blunt-force trauma killed a puppy named Rosie, it remains unclear exactly what caused the deaths of the remaining two dogs.

The exact nature of the relationship between Sit and Liu remains disputed, as prosecutors alleged they were romantically involved, while the defense maintained it was strictly a boss-employee dynamic.

What they're saying:

Prosecutors heavily condemned Sit's actions and his subsequent messages to the dog owners.

Chay argued that the text messages to customers were  lie after lie after lie because we know the truth. We know he was not actually sorry... and it was painful and they suffered... It wasn't unexpected. If anything, it was preventable. 

Chay also noted that a prosecution expert testified that the puppy Rosie was  so afraid she urinated on herself  before dying of  blunt force trauma to the head. 

The defense attorneys presented a different narrative of panic and lack of criminal intent. Sit's attorney, Kate Corrigan, argued that things happened very quickly and  were not the fault of Mr. Sit,  instead describing the timeline as  one bad decision after another  born out of panic attacks.

Liu's attorney, Fred Fascenelli, argued his client was simply an employee following orders, stating,  There's no proof she knew a crime had been committed. 

He pushed back against the cover-up narrative, stating,  I don't see a nefarious aspect of cleaning up after a number of animals had passed away,  and noted that Liu had openly asked Sit if he really wanted to leave the bodies at a landfill.