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Case #4622 Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Hoarding - 200 cats found dead
East Orange, NJ (US)Incident Date: Thursday, May 19, 2005
County: Essex
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Marlene R. Kess
Case Updates: 5 update(s) available
An East Orange woman was charged with numerous health code and animal welfare violations after hundreds of dead cats were discovered rotting in garbage bags in the back yard of her home.
Marlene Kess, who has built a reputation in Manhattan as a caretaker of homeless and dying cats, had 48 cats inside her house, including 38 in one room, authorities stated.
Out back, there were 200 vermin-infested cat corpses stuffed into garbage bags and apparently were going to be buried in a large hole that recently had been dug, said Sgt. Joseph Bierman of the state's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The cats were discovered after neighbors complained about the stench.
"Oh my God, it was awful," said Michael Fowler, of the Associated Humane Societies. "The smell was horrible."
Kess, 56, is the founder and executive director of Kitty-Kind, which runs one of New York City's few no-kill shelters.
A longtime resident of Greenwich Village, Kess moved to East Orange in July. She is known for her efforts to find homes for sick cats.
Kess was cited for health code violations, including keeping an unlawful number of animals, harboring dead animals and causing an environmental hazard with the corpses. The SPCA, which enforces the state's animal cruelty laws, charged Kess with 38 counts of failing to properly shelter cats.
Authorities are allowing Kess to keep the 48 cats in her home because she promised to separate the sick animals from the healthy ones, Bierman said.
Kess said the cats died of natural causes. State SPCA spokesman Matt Stanton told the media that an investigation into the death of the cats is "ongoing."
Case Updates| Kess has since left the State of NJ and is believed to be living somewhere in NYC. | | Update posted on Mar 25, 2007 - 12:55AM |
A state judge on Thursday scrapped a 21-day jail term in an animal cruelty case, but upheld an order that Marlene Kess perform 1,140 days of community service.
Kess also must pay more than $12,000 in fines under the sentence imposed by Superior Court Judge Nancy Sivilli. A municipal judge in East Orange originally imposed a fine of $14,000 along with the jail term in 2005.
Thursday's ruling came after Kess appealed the sentence.
Kess faced charges after 200 dead cats were found rotting in garbage bags in her East Orange back yard in May 2005.
About 100 live cats were found inside her home, and several had to be destroyed because of illness, authorities said.
She was convicted of 38 counts of animal cruelty and three health code violations by the municipal judge in 2005.
Sivilli ordered that Kess do her community service with the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or a municipal animal control agency.
Kess was also barred from housing any animals and must surrender any current pets to animal control authorities while she completes her sentence, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said.
Kess had built a reputation in Manhattan as a caretaker of homeless and dying cats. She founded KittyKind, a no-kill rescue group based in New York. A longtime resident of Greenwich Village, Kess moved to East Orange in July 2004. | Source: 1010 Wins - March 15, 2007
Update posted on Mar 17, 2007 - 1:04PM |
The woman convicted of dumping 200 rotting cat carcasses in her East Orange backyard posted bail yesterday.
One week after being slapped with a 21-day jail term and more than three years of community service, Marlene Kess, 56, handed over a certified check for $14,099 and walked out of East Orange municipal court.
"I am not the cat lady they are making me out to be," she said.
But other cat welfare officials disagree.
"Everyone who has seen photos of the house and conditions has broken down and cried in front of me," said Denton Infield, who manages the Associated Humane Society of Newark's shelter, the agency busily reuniting Kess' cats with their worried owners.
Kess was convicted earlier this month of various health code violations and animal abuse charges in connection with the May 19 discovery that garbage bags in her backyard were filled with dead cats. Dozens more live cats, some sick and without proper food and water, were found inside the home.
East Orange Municipal Court Judge Karimu Hill-Harvey sentenced Kess to a 21-day jail term, three years and two months of community service, a $14,099 fine and prohibited her from owning animals for the next three years.
She also ordered the immediate removal of all animals from the woman's home. Animal welfare officials took 95 cats from the home and euthanized 20 because of illness.
So Kess would have an opportunity to appeal, Hill-Harvey gave her a week to post bail. Yesterday morning a technicality could have prevented Kess from avoiding jail time.
Hill-Harvey blasted the woman and her attorney, Wilfredo Benitez, when Kess attempted to pay the fee from a personal account. She was given until 3:15 p.m. to present a certified check to the court.
"If she is not back by 3:15 to post bail she will be considered an escaped fugitive and officers are authorized to arrest her," Hill-Harvey said.
Kess made the deadline. She has until Sept. 11 to file an appeal.
Meanwhile, the cats remain in limbo.
As the founder and executive director of KittyKind, which according to its Web site is a cat rescue and adoption organization, Kess built a 20-year reputation taking in abandoned and sick cats.
Many of the cats removed from her home last week were brought there by overwhelmed owners and other rescuers and shelters that had run out of space, Infield said.
Now they want them back, he said. So far 22 cats have been claimed.
Before the shelter begins adopting the cats out, those owners with evidence -- photos, veterinarian records, or animal licenses -- will be given a chance to pick up their pets.
While many expressed horror after seeing the condition of the cats, Kess still has supporters, said Roseann Trezza, the shelter's executive director. | Source: Star-Ledger - August 29, 2005
Update posted on Aug 30, 2005 - 9:59AM |
A woman was sentenced Monday to a 21-day jail term for failing to provide proper shelter for animals after about 200 dead cats were found rotting in garbage bags in her back yard, an animal welfare group said.
Marlene Kess, who had built a reputation in Manhattan as a caretaker of homeless and dying cats, was also fined $14,000 and ordered to perform 1,140 days of community service working for animal protection organizations, said Stuart Rhodes, president of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Following the sentencing in East Orange Municipal Court, workers from both groups began removing about 60 surviving cats from the Kess home, Rhodes said. The cats were to be taken to Associated Humane Societies in Newark, checked by a veterinarian and put up for adoption if they were healthy.
Kess, 56, founded KittyKind, a no-kill rescue group based in New York. A longtime resident of Greenwich Village, Kess moved to East Orange in July 2004.
Kess, who was expected to appeal, could not immediately be reached for comment.
In May, the garbage bags containing dead cats were discovered after neighbors complained about the stench.
"I take very good care of them," Kess told reporters in May. "People who know me know there's no cruelty involved." | Source: New York Newsday - Aug 22, 2005
Update posted on Aug 22, 2005 - 4:19PM |
| Municipal Court Judge Karimu Hill-Harvey is hearing the case, which began July 20. It will continue in August. | Source: East Orange Record - July 29, 2005
Update posted on Jul 29, 2005 - 11:49AM |
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