Case Details

Baby goats beaten to death
Williams Township, PA (US)

Date: Apr 12, 2006
County: Northampton
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted

Abusers/Suspects:

  • Jordan Stackhouse
  • Justin Sykes
  • Peter Wengryn
  • James Vannatta
  • Juvenile

    Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
  • Case ID: 8206
    Classification: Beating
    Animal: goat
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    Police are investigating a horrifying case of animal abuse in Northampton County after three goats were found dead in Williams Township. This sheep and goat farm in Williams Township Northampton County seems very serene, but authorities say earlier this month teenagers broke in and committed a horrific act of animal cruelty.

    I found the first dead one approximately 15 feet in front of the gate, the mother was lying next to it, she cried all day, said Matt Redmond.

    When Redmond and his wife Maggie began raising livestock three years ago their biggest worries were loose dogs and coyotes. We never thought we would have to worry about people hurting our livestock, explained Redmond.

    But on April 12th, Redmond arrived at his farm to find two baby goats dead and two more clinging to life. One of them was a newborn, just seven hours old, with two broken legs.

    On Monday, a third baby goat died from its injuries. Even more shocking is how Redmond thinks this crime was committed, after finding softballs, a broken rake and two metal fence stakes on his property. We believe they were playing baseball with our baby goats. They are little, we think they were using them for batting practice, said Redmond.

    Redmond has since bought livestock guardian dogs and has been sleeping in a trailer on his farm. He says state police have been given names of some juveniles, believed to be involved.

    My wife and I would like to see them arrested. If they could do this to a baby animal there's not much else they wouldn't do, said Redmond.

    One baby goat named Easter is the only survivor. He will be getting his casts changed Thursday and is expected to make a full recovery.

    Case Updates

    Northampton County Judge F.P. Kimberly McFadden ruled Thursday a 16-year-old Williams Township boy must remain in juvenile detention on charges of killing two newborn goats and injuring two other kids on a pasture in the township.

    Also on Thursday, Jordan B. Stackhouse, 18, of Williams, pleaded guilty to criminal trespass before District Judge Sandra Zemgulis of Easton. Stackhouse was released after paying $425 that included a $300 fine.


    Lehigh Valley Local Links
    James E. Vannatta, 18, also of Williams, is expected to plead guilty before Zemgulis today, according to the district judge's office.

    State police at Belfast charged Stackhouse, Vannatta and two teenage boys � a 15-year-old from Wilson and a 17-year-old from Williams � last Friday with criminal trespass in the April 11 goat attack. The cases against the two teens are still pending.

    Police charged the 16-year-old boy not only with the same offense, but also cruelty to animals for picking up a wooden handle and striking the baby goats several times.

    The other two kids, April and Easter, later died of their injuries.

    Goat owners Matt Redmond and his wife, Maggie Alexander said they plan to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit against the boys' parents.

    The couple, who were not allowed in the closed-door hearing, was pleased with McFadden's decision and hoped ''justice is served'' before they move this summer to a 50-acre dairy farm in Brookfield, N.Y.

    Redmond and his wife have leased a 10-acre pasture on Kressman Road for two years and raised goats, sheep and two llamas for wool.

    Kathy Hendershot of Williams, who owns nearly a dozen goats, came to support the Redmonds on Thursday.

    ''There's got to be justice for what happened,'' Hendershot said. ''The laws on animal cruelty should be more serious because this makes it easier for people to get away with this type of stuff.''

    Assistant District Attorney Thomas Carroll said the teenager will remain at the juvenile detention center in Easton until a pre-adjudication conference is held May 22.

    If no resolution is reached with the boy and his attorney, Philip Lauer of Easton, Carroll said, a hearing is scheduled for May 31. He said the teenager has been at the center since Tuesday.

    The 16-year-old is ''a danger to the community at this point,'' Carroll said.

    Lauer said this was his client's first offense.

    ''He has not been convicted of anything, and he was charged with two misdemeanor offenses,'' Lauer said.

    Meanwhile, the Lehigh Valley Animal Rights Coalition will decide how to contribute at least half of a $1,000 reward the group offered for tips leading to the arrest in the goat killings.

    Coalition President Virginia Wolfe said a decision will be made once all legal proceedings are done.
    Source: The Morning Call 5/12/06
    Update posted on May 13, 2006 - 11:38AM 
    State police investigating a goat attack in a township pasture say the offenders could face jail time. As of the evening of April 24, police had interviewed most of the suspects in the case, said Trooper Robert Glad with the Belfast barracks.

    "Evidence is kind of scarce," he said. "We're basically going to be going on testimony of witnesses and other people who may have been involved."

    During the night of April 11 someone broke into an animal pen off Kressman Road, killed two baby goats and broke the legs of two newborn goats, according to the animals' owners Maggie Alexander and her husband, Matt Redmond.

    The suspects could face a cruelty to animals charge, a second-degree misdemeanor, Glad said. Possible punishments include a fine and a maximum of two years in jail, he said.

    For breaking into the pasture, the suspects could get slapped with a fine for criminal trespassing, a summary offense, Glad said.

    Details about the overnight battering remain murky, but clues suggest the culprits played baseball using the goats, Alexander has said. A rake snapped in half, three softballs and two steel fence posts moved from their original location lingered in the pen after the attack.

    While one of the injured goats appears to be recovering, the other took a turn for the worse over the weekend, Alexander said.

    April, a white goat resembling a miniature poodle, spent the weekend strapped to an IV at Alpha Veterinary Care in New Jersey. She later returned to the animal pen, where she died Monday.

    The incident has fueled public outrage in this largely rural pocket of the township and beyond.

    Staff at Voorhees High School in Glen Gardner, where Alexander teaches special education, raised $100 to help her recoup the financial losses. The four maimed goats are worth $1,600, their owners estimate.

    Frustrated by what appeared to be a weeklong lag between the incident and an investigation, Alexander and Redmond had offered a $500 reward for information on the attack.

    Shortly after the attack, state police referred the matter to the Northampton County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals.

    The case wound up in the hands of the Last Chance Ranch, an equine rescue in Quakertown, because the SPCA doesn't handle cruelty cases involving livestock.

    Then this past weekend, a state police trooper met with the couple and toured the animal pen.

    Alexander, 54, and her husband, a 50-year-old carpenter, live on Bougher Hill Road in Williams Township. They rent 10 acres on Kressman Road for Angora goats, sheep and llamas, which they raise for wool.

    Since the attack, they have been taking turns sleeping in a white trailer in the field to protect their herd.

    Alexander said she wants money for veterinary costs, compensation for the livestock, an apology and rehabilitation for the attackers.

    "I want accountability for what they have done," she said. "I want them to be punished according to the law -- no more, no less -- and if the law calls for incarceration, I want them to be incarcerated."
    Source: The Express Times - April 26, 2006
    Update posted on Apr 26, 2006 - 11:48PM 

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    References

    CBS News - April 26, 2006
    WFMZ-TV - April 26, 2006
    ABC Channel 6
    The Star Ledger - May 6, 2006
    NJ.com - May 9, 2006
    The Morning Call
    The Express Times - May 12, 2006
    The Patriot News - May 14, 2006
    The Express Times - May 16, 2006
    The Express Times - May 19, 2006
    The Express Times - May 23, 2006

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