A Thurston County judge ordered a mental health evaluation Monday for a woman who allegedly asphyxiated a goat with car exhaust. During a preliminary hearing, Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks said the evaluation will help determine whether Constance Jump has suicidal thoughts or is in danger of hurting herself.
Jump, 57, was arrested Dec 5 on suspicion of first-degree animal cruelty after sheriff's deputies removed 30 animals from her Fairview Street Southwest home and found the asphyxiated goat. The animal had been attacked by one of her dogs and she allegedly euthanized the goat by holding its head up to the tailpipe of a running car, deputies said.
First-degree animal cruelty is punishable by up to one year in jail, but the standard sentence for a first-time offender is up to 90 days.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Bruneau said a pretrial evaluation of Jump found she has been suffering from a "major depressive episode" and may not be capable of caring for herself. Animal feces were found in her home and some of the birds were not well cared for, Bruneau said.
The evaluation stated that suicide may be possible, he added.
Leyton Jump, a younger brother who is a physician in Tenino, asked Hicks to consider a supervised setting for his sister. He said she is diabetic but has not taken care of herself, possibly because she is depressed. Her vision is also impaired.
He said he is aware of a suicidal gesture while she was in college.
Constance Jump's court-appointed attorney, Robert Jimerson, said Jump denies having suicidal thoughts or actions. She is seeing a psychiatrist in Seattle.
After the hearing, Leyton Jump said his sister is unemployed now, but had been a master gardener and at one point, ran a shelter for rare birds.
"The true irony is here's a woman who loves animals. Her love of life and animals is as great as any of us," he said. Case Updates| Jump pled guilty to animal cruelty in the 1st degree on 2/12/2004 - sentenced to 365 days confinement-353 days suspended, paid $1100 in restitution and court costs | | Update posted on Oct 31, 2005 - 9:56PM |
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