DURHAM — A 55-year-old Durham man was indicted this week, accused of having sex with his dog and then killing the animal in November.

Investigators said Thomas Wentworth had sex with the dog, a Labrador named Missy, and then killed it by tying a bag filled with ether around its head.

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department learned about the alleged abuse and death of the dog while investigating a domestic disturbance at Wentworth’s Pinkham Brook Road home in December.

Wentworth has been charged with domestic assault, terrorizing, stalking and cruelty to animals. He was being held Wednesday at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn.

Police said in addition to abusing and killing the Labrador, Wentworth also threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and bury her body in his yard, next to the dead dog.

The ex-girlfriend told Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Detective Thomas Slivinski that she witnessed Wentworth having sex with the dog while the couple was living together.

Days later, police said, Wentworth suffocated the dog and used a backhoe to bury it, bragging about the killing and warning his then-girlfriend that he could do the same to her.

According to Sun Journal archives, Wentworth has a history of domestic violence. He is scheduled to appear in court June 5 on the latest.