Joseph Byrnes, Accused of Hacking Dog to Death in S.F. Church, In Court Today

Byrnes' case is currently being heard in the city's Behavioral Health Court -- over the strenuous objection of the District Attorney. Yet a decision today regarding the presentation of expert reports may or may not shunt the case back to regular criminal court.

Witnesses in August reported to police that a shirtless Byrnes struck his dog, Nickel, with a hatchet outside the Bernal Heights Catholic church before dragging the prone animal within. Police called to the scene relayed a grisly tale of a bloody trail leading them to Byrnes' blood-soaked clothes and weapon. The officers spotted Byrnes in a church courtyard, nude and slathered in blood, squatting over his dog. He then allegedly told the police "I had to kill my dog, he had the devil in him."

Byrnes' longtime friends have told SF Weekly that the drummer and artist battled mental health issues all his life -- but his situation grew extremely dire in recent years. In the three months preceding the incident at Immaculate Conception, Byrnes health appears to have declined precipitously. He lost his job, his home of a dozen years, and his friends told SF Weekly Byrnes was living out of his truck and potentially abusing drugs and alcohol.

"People were saying, 'Oh, Joe, he's okay. He's just a little bit wacky.' But his longer-time friends were saying, 'no, he's not doing well. He really needs help,'" a longtime friend of Byrnes' told SF Weekly last year. "I think it's really tragic. When Joe is lucid and okay and not suffering from a hyper swing, he's a really lovely guy. But he's got some problems. I'm assuming the police reports are correct. He's a really close friend of mine and this is breaking my heart"