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Case ID: 1637

Classification: Hoarding

Animal: pig, sheep, goat

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Case #1637 Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Hoarding
Loxahatchee, FL (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Jul 17, 2003
County: Palm Beach

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Chi Luu Linville

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

She has hundreds of animals to care for but investigators say a Loxahatchee woman can't even take care of herself. Chi Luu Linville is no stranger to animal investigators. They were at her house dozens of times before the most recent visit Wednesday after recently discovering dead animals on her 10 acres of property.

Now, investigators are worried about more than just the animals. They say Linville also lives in filth.

"I think that this is a woman who has slipped through the cracks, and it needs to be addressed with everybody," said Capt. Gina DiPace of Animal Care and Control.

Investigators say there's nothing they can do about the way Linville lives. Animal care and control seized all of Linville's animals but are leaving them on her property and checking them daily until a custody hearing later this month.

According to reports, the animals involved were:

* 105 Swine - Males/Females - Adult/Young - Various Colors
* 27 Goats - Males/Females - Adult/Young - Various Colors
* Sheep - Unknown Sex - Adults - Various Colors
* 6 Ram
* 7 Bovine - Males/Females - Adult/Young - Various Colors
* 4 Emu

Case Updates

A mentally ill Loxahatchee woman who hoarded animals in squalid conditions will be spared prison time for trying to arrange the murder of an animal control officer, a judge ruled Friday.

Chi Linville, 59, is dying of cancer and will serve three years of house arrest in lieu of the 50-month prison term imposed in May 2005, Circuit Judge Jack Cook ruled. An oncologist estimated that Linville's life expectancy is less than a year, according to court records.

Frail and bald, she attended Friday's hearing in a wheelchair. She's undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for stage four cervical cancer, according to her attorney, Jeff Brown. Prosecutor Dan Galo didn't object to Linville serving her time on house arrest.

Linville had been free on bond pending the outcome of her appeal, which was recently denied. She has a long and contentious history with Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control that includes numerous citations for allowing animals to starve and live in squalor.

In 1998, she attacked an animal care officer as sickly goats and sheep were removed from her 10-acre property. In September 2003, a judge banned her from keeping any livestock or pets and transferred custody of the animals to Animal Care & Control.

The following month, Linville asked a friend of a friend to kill animal control officer Tammie Crawford. That man notified authorities. Linville then asked an undercover detective to shoot Crawford and dump her body in a canal and let the alligators eat her.

Three weeks before her arrest on a charge of solicitation to commit murder, an animal control supervisor visited Linville's home and found the toilets backed up and the house full of animal feces and garbage. Linville was using the bathroom outside and sleeping on a filthy towel.

At her March 2005 trial, Linville's lawyer argued that his client suffered mental problems and was under the influence of sleeping pills when law enforcement "entrapped" her. In April 2005, while Linville awaited sentencing, Animal Care & Control seized eight pigs living in Linville's home without access to food, water or ventilation. Linville later was charged with battery for attacking a tipster who reported the pigs.

In addition to her chemotherapy, Linville, who also suffers depression and other mental problems, will continue treatment at Oakwood Mental Health Center. She cannot own any animals and is prohibited from contacting Crawford, who attended Friday's hearing.

She didn't object to Linville serving her time on house arrest, though she still worries Linville might try to harm her. "I'm fine with it, but I worry, absolutely, and I'll worry until she's gone," Crawford said.

Source: Sun & Sentinel - July 14, 2007
Update posted on Jul 14, 2007 - 12:57PM

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Chi Luu Linville says she's been persecuted by animal control officers for 15 years, and her arrest on charges of conspiring to kill one of them was their ultimate score. The 56-year-old proclaimed her innocence in court Tuesday during what was meant to be a routine hearing to determine whether she could afford to hire a private attorney.

Linville has battled with the county's animal care and control unit for 15 years as it scrutinized the hundreds of creatures she kept on her 10-acre Loxahatchee ranch. Linville was arrested in 1998 on a charge of biting an animal control officer, and the division took custody of 27 goats, seven cows, six rams and five sheep this summer. She was barred last month from ever owning another creature. Investigators said that's when she snapped.

Palm Beach County sheriff's investigators said she tried to hire a hit woman to shoot and kill animal cruelty Sgt. Tammie Crawford and dispose of her body. But the hit woman turned out to be one of their undercover deputies. They say they have Linville on tape discussing the plan and found a map she drew for the undercover detective she tried to hire.

Linville was arrested and charged with solicitation of first-degree murder and was ordered by a judge to undergo a mental health evaluation.

But Tuesday, she claimed she was entrapped by a "drug addict informant" who sold the story to deputies for $1,000. She claimed she never tried to arrange the murder, crying to the judge that she'd never hurt another person.

Linville owns the $300,000 house and property in Loxahatchee, but explained that she has no income. She said she had a friend who often gave her livestock and paid her bills, and that her only form of employment was as a "volunteer to help the homeless."

Linville, who is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail without bail, asked for an attorney so she could get a bond hearing.

Read More: Update posted on Oct 21, 2003 - 11:15PM

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Chi Luu Linville was charged Sunday (Oct 5, 2003) with solicitation of first-degree murder and was being held at Palm Beach County Jail. She was ordered by a judge to have a mental health evaluation. No information on her lawyer was available.

Update posted on Oct 8, 2003 - 12:34PM

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HoardingLoxahatchee, FL (US)

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Hoarding
Loxahatchee, FL (US)