Nancy and Kathleen Nygaard, wanted on several second-degree animal cruelty charges stemming from dead and starving horses found at a farm they leased in Lexington, turned themselves in to Lexington authorities on Friday night after an attempt to locate them for ten days had provided few clues to their whereabouts.

The pair bonded out of jail on Saturday, Lexington police Lieutenant Thomas Curtsinger told the Lexington Herald-Leader. Second-degree animal cruelty is considered to be a Class A misdemeanor and carries penalties of as much as $500 or up to 12 months in jail.

Nancy Nygaard and her daughter, Kathleen, were charged with six counts of animal cruelty sought by the Lexington Humane Society. Two dead Thoroughbreds, a dead dog, and a dead cat were found at Four Winds Farm, the 45-acre property leased by Kathleen Nygaard on south Yarnallton Pike in northwest Lexington, along with several other malnourished horses.

Carrie Trapp, a spokesperson for the Lexington Humane Society, said that the fate of the animals depends on the outcome of the trial, and that owners of the animals have not been determined.

The property was leased from Chuck and Shawn Deppen, who are the owners of the farm. Shawn Deppen told the newspaper that the Nygaards had been given an eviction notice after not keeping up with their payments on the property, and had been seen on the farm "fairly often" during the spring and summer.

In 2003, the condition of horses owned by the Nygaards and located on a farm in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky where Murray The Nygaards are scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday at 1 p.m. EST in Lexington-Fayette County District Court.

Source: Throroughbred Times - Jan 16, 2005