Case Details

Hoarding - 117 live cats, 184 dead cats, 3 dogs
Mount Airy, MD (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Dec 16, 2005
County: Frederick
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available

Abuser/Suspect: Patricia K. Nicholson

Case Updates: 5 update(s) available

Case ID: 6667
Classification: Hoarding, Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull)
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Suspect was in animal welfare field
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On December 16, 2005, authorities removed 117 live cats and 184 dead ones from a house near Mount Airy, the Frederick County Animal Control office said. Officers also found three live dogs and one dead in the two-story house on Black Ankle Road, Director Harold L. Domer Jr. said.

Six animal control officers and a sheriff's deputy were required December 16, 2005 to handle the situation, which is believed to be the largest case of animal hoarding in the county, said Harold L. Domer Jr., director of the animal control division.

Before they could account for the dead animals scattered throughout the home in the 14000 block of Black Ankle Road, the officers tried to save the animals that were alive. Many of them were barely able to breathe in the stifling, ammonia-filled air, and many of them were sick, dehydrated and malnourished, Domer said. Domer said no one has been charged in the case and would not release the identity of the person who kept the animals, saying the case was under investigation.

The Mount Airy case came to Frederick County officials' attention a week ago after someone visiting the house saw the situation and alerted the authorities, Domer said. The home's owner gave animal control officers permission to visit the house December 15, 2005 but then would not allow them inside. Finally, the officers got a search and seizure warrant and entered the house shortly after 10 a.m. on December 16, 2005. The owner was not home at the time, Domer said. The sight that greeted the officers was astonishing, said Domer, who visited the house, set back from a winding, wooded road in a hilly, rural area where a "No Trespassing" sign hangs near almost every mailbox.
"The house was cluttered with feces and urine, and a number of paper plates and a number of paper products used to feed cats were throughout the house," Domer said. A number of cats were roaming free, and others were kept in cages and pet carriers. The dead animals, he said, "were on the first floor, second floor, in different places, and there was an outbuilding where they were stored as well." He said some dead animals were stored near cat food in several refrigerators around the house, while others were kept in plastic containers in a shed.
Food and water were set out all over the house, but "there's no way that one person could handle the feeding, the cleaning," Domer said.

The living animals were transported in crates to the animal control division's headquarters. There, a team of veterinarians from Buckeystown Veterinary Hospital examined them during the next three days. Two cats were beyond saving and were euthanized, Domer said. Meanwhile, animal control officers at the house collected the dead animals, finishing at 5:15 p.m. The stench was so powerful that the officers had to step outside frequently for fresh air, Domer said.
The rest of the animals are in improving health and will be held until the case is resolved, Domer said.

Case Updates

In court, accused animal hoarder Patricia Nicholson took nearly fifteen minutes to explain how and why she collected cats, all the while showing very little remorse.

The piles of garbage outside of her million dollar home were nothing compared to what animal control officers say they found inside: dozens of dead cats piled up all over the house, as well as 119 sick and diseased cats living among the filth and debris.

Volunteers were able to save 73 of them.

"Unbelievable suffering. I'll cry because it was really a terrible, terrible situation," said prosecutor Kirsten Brown.

Though hundreds of cats died, Nicholson pled guilty to just 46 counts of abuse, one for each cat that left the house alive but couldn't be saved. She fits the profile of a typical animal hoarder--a woman, over forty, who lives alone and loves animals.

"There seriously was something psychologically wrong with this woman to take on that many cats and to live in those kinds of conditions," Brown said.

Animal hoarding is considered a mental disorder, and the judge ordered Nicholson to undergo a psychological evaluation and treatment.

Nicholson hid from our cameras, but in court she explained to the judge how she spent thousands trying to care for and save the unwanted cats.

Her words angered animal rescuers.

"She felt that she was doing the best that she possibly could. Well, I held them while they were dying. I held them when they came in and saw their little sunken faces. She didn't even, it's like didn't even understand what she did was wrong that she inflicted in the animals," said animal rescuer Anne Virts.

The judge placed Nicholson on three years' probation and ordered her not to keep any pets.

Nicholson still owes more than $13,000 dollars in restitution to the animal agencies that helped rescue the surviving cats.
Source: WJZ - Nov 29, 2006
Update posted on Nov 29, 2006 - 11:50PM 
Patricia Nicholson was sentenced today to three years of supervised probation and ordered to refrain from possessing animals during that time.

Nicholson, 52, of rural Mount Airy, avoided more than 11 years behind bars and $46,000 in fines under the suspended sentence ordered by Frederick County District Court Judge O. John Cejka as part of a plea agreement. He also ordered Nicholson to make restitution of more than $14,500 to four agencies that helped treat the scores of surviving animals.

Nicholson was convicted of 46 misdemeanor counts of animal neglect in September after entering an Alford plea to the charges. In an Alford plea, a defendant doesn't admit guilt but acknowledges the state has enough evidence to obtain a guilty verdict.

Animal control officers who were called to Nicholson's house last December found 184 dead cats and 119 live ones, of which 46 had to be euthanized, according to court records.

Defense attorney Raymond Carignan said at a Sept. 27 hearing that Nicholson, who lived alone, had tried to rescue feral cats and "tried to take care of more cats than she could."
Source: Baltimore Sun - Nov 29, 2006
Update posted on Nov 29, 2006 - 11:46PM 
The trial of a Mount Airy woman facing 244 animal cruelty charges came to a halt Tuesday afternoon when she entered an Alford plea to 46 counts of failure to provide proper care, food and water for 46 cats that had to be euthanized.

Patricia K. Nicholson, 51, entered the plea after returning to Frederick County District Court from lunch recess. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but is an acknowledgment that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict.

Judge Oliver John Cejka Jr. set sentencing for Nov. 29. Each count is punishable by as much as 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

In December, Nicholson was found living with hundreds of live and dead cats in her $500,000 two-story, brick house on Black Ankle Road that animal control Officers Michael Douglas and John Teal testified was covered with cat feces, carcasses and trash.

In some rooms in the house, feces was 3 inches deep, Officer Douglas said.

In a hallway bathroom, "the entire bathtub, the walls, the shower stall were all covered in feces," Officer Douglas said.

"In the sink, clothes were piled up," he said, along with "five hypodermic needles and debris � what looks like a (cat) skull."

During a search of the residence last winter, animal control officers seized 119 live cats, three dogs and the decomposing remains of 184 cats.

Two refrigerators and a freezer were stuffed full of cat carcasses, officers said before the break Tuesday.

A small refrigerator in an upstairs bedroom had to be forced open, Officer Douglas said. Inside, they found "a solid block of ice containing cat carcasses."

Veterinarian Brooke Loewenstein of the Buckeystown Veterinary Hospital testified that the unsanitary environment led to numerous ailments the cats contracted, detailing the animals' medical problems one by one.

Nicholson hired Severna Park defense attorney Raymond Carignan last week as the case approached trial. She dismissed two other attorneys who had hoped to avert a trial with a plea agreement.

Conferring with Judge Cejka and Mr. Carignan when court resumed Tuesday afternoon, Assistant State's Attorney Kirsten N. Brown agreed to a suspended sentence, provided Nicholson receive psychological treatment during three years of supervised probation and that she not be allowed to have any animals on her property during that time.

A decomposing cat was found on one of two mattresses on the master bedroom floor where Nicholson apparently slept.

"Treatment is paramount in this matter," Ms. Brown said. "I don't think she thinks like the rest of us. Not one room in that house was free of feces or the strong ammonia smell of urine."

Ms. Brown said she also wants restitution paid in the thousands of dollars to the county animal control center and the volunteer agencies that nursed the sick animals back to health.

A half-dozen representatives of the Animal Welfare League attended Tuesday's proceedings.

Ellen Gardiner, president, expressed disappointment about the possibility of a suspended sentence in the extreme case of hoarding animals.

"I think more than anything we would like to see people come forward before a situation becomes as serious as this one did. People don't want to interfere," Ms. Gardiner said. "This isn't the only case of hoarding here. I hope she receives the help she needs."
Source: Frederick News-Post - Sept 26, 2006
Update posted on Sep 28, 2006 - 7:14AM 
A Mount Airy woman who faces animal cruelty charges for living with hundreds of live and dead cats had her day in court postponed last week, after her second lawyer and prosecutors agreed to the delay.

The case against Patricia K. Nicholson, 51, had been scheduled for a hearing last Thursday. A new court date has not been set.

Defense attorney T. Joseph Touhey, who took the case about a month ago, said people who were stunned last winter to learn that someone would live among so many animals may be surprised by Ms. Nicholson when she appears in Frederick County District Court.

Ms. Nicholson �is a very clean lady � properly dressed, well-groomed,� said Mr. Touhey of Glen Burnie.

Investigating a complaint Dec. 14, county animal control officers seized 119 live cats and three dogs, and the decomposing remains of 184 cats from Ms. Nicholson�s two-story brick house west of the Carroll County line.

�That she was living in absolutely squalid, very unhealthy conditions � animal control officers had just cause to bring charges� when they discovered the overwhelming animal waste and debris inside her $500,000 home on Black Ankle Road, Mr. Touhey said.

Mr. Touhey praised prosecutors for taking �a very reasonable approach to this thing.�

�They�re not looking to hang her from some post as some cat killer,� Mr. Touhey said. �Were she that, I would not represent her.�

Ms. Nicholson is charged with 244 misdemeanors. Each charge carries as much as 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

To convict on a felony charge, authorities would have to prove overt acts of cruelty.

Mr. Touhey and the state�s attorney�s office agreed to postpone last week�s hearing when Ms. Nicholson changed lawyers, and Mr. Touhey realized he had a scheduling conflict.

Ms. Nicholson�s first private practice attorney, Jack E. Blomquist of Frederick, did not return a phone call seeking comment about leaving the case.

The state agreed to the delay, in part, because of documents prosecutors have not received.

�We�re still awaiting the results of the psychological evaluation (of Ms. Nicholson),� said Kirsten N. Brown, chief of the State�s Attorney�s Office District Court division.

Those findings must be reviewed before the case can proceed.

Mr. Touhey would not allow his client to comment while the case is pending.

�I probably shouldn�t either, but I�ve got a big mouth,� he said.

When the case comes to trial, Mr. Touhey said he�ll call witnesses to the stand who will say that Ms. Nicholson�s chief reason for living was her devotion to caring for other people�s unwanted cats to keep them from being euthanized.

�This lady is charged with cruelty to animals, and if you knew her you would realize that being cruel to animals is the last thing she could possibly be,� Mr. Touhey said.

�She did all she did because she loved her cats,� he said. �She�s devoted all her time and spent thousands and thousands of dollars.�

Employed in the computer industry, Ms. Nicholson funneled most of her earnings toward caring for the felines she was compelled to save, Mr. Touhey said. A banker who had gone to Ms. Nicholson�s house to check on problems with her mortgage payments notified authorities that animals had taken over.

�She�s devoted every inch of her resources to save these animals,� Mr. Touhey said. �This is not a case of intentional abuse or willful neglect. She�s overwhelmed � it was inadvertent. She took on more than she could handle.�

As both sides wait for a court date, a plea deal has not been ruled out, Ms. Brown said.

�We�ll always talk about reaching a plea if it is beneficial to the state to work something out that we find is a fair disposition for sentencing,� she said.

Frederick County Animal Control Director Harold Domer said his agency would like to see Ms. Nicholson go to trial.

�Based on the magnitude of the case � we�re asking for the case to be prosecuted,� he said.

Mr. Touhey said his client has cleaned up her property and given her three dogs to her veterinarian, who will testify to her �stalwart efforts to rescue animals.�

�I have a list of people she placed animals with, involving hundreds of cats who have received new homes,� he said.

Mr. Touhey said the dead animals on Ms. Nicholson�s property were in boxes because she was trying to come up with the money to have them cremated.
Source: Frederick News-Post - July 25, 2006
Update posted on Jul 27, 2006 - 10:07PM 
Patricia Nicholson, 51, of Mount Airy, was free on a personal recognizance bond today, one day after she voluntarily surrendered to Frederick County authorities, defense attorney Jack Blomquist said.


Nicholson is charged with 122 misdemeanor counts of inflicting unnecessary pain and suffering, and 122 misdemeanor counts of failing to provide adequate food, shelter and air. Her trial is set for March 7, 2006 in Frederick County
District Court. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Source: Baltimore Sun - January 6, 2006
Update posted on Jan 6, 2006 - 10:25PM 

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References

Boston News - December 20, 2005
Washington Post - December 21, 2005

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