A Knox County woman has been charged with 26 counts of cruelty to animals after animal control authorities found dozens of dead cats in two of her homes.
Authorities say some of the cats they found had been dead for so long, they were practically mummified. Others were found decomposing. Animal Control officers also found 10 skeletal remains at one of Sylvia Sexton's homes.
Authorities were notified by neighbors who say one of the cats bit their pet dog and scratched their child's hand. Animal Control officers got a search warrant after getting the complaint.
What they found inside the locked doors was very disturbing. David Head, Executive Director of Knox County Animal Control describes the experience. "It's like walking into the city dump, and about 10 times the smell. Fleas, ticks mice."
Knox County Animal Control showed the pictures after getting permission from the District Attorney General's office. They show all the furniture rotting and decayed. Also, the carpet is decomposing and covered with several inches of feces.
Authorities say there was no electricity or running water in that home. They do not believe anybody lived there.
A neighbor told local media that Sexton and her husband would stop by once a day to put food and water out for the cats, but authorities say the animals appear severely neglected. "If you find mummified bodies or partial bodies, they did not have food and water substantial enough to stand life, " Head says.
He adds the home had no ventilation. The windows were sealed with plastic and covered with heavy drapes inside, possibly to try containing the stench. But you could still smell cat feces and urine from several houses away.
Animal control officers also searched another home at 4200 Tazewell Pike. Dead cats were also found in that home and it has been condemned by the county.
The District Attorney General's office is now interviewing Sexton's family members. Authorities say more charges may be filed later in this case.
Sexton is out on bond. She's expected to be arraigned on July 7. Case UpdatesA pathologist at the UT School of Veterinary Medicine is helping perform necropsies on some of the mummified animals found at the home of woman charged in a cruelty case.
Sylvia Sexton faces a long list of cruelty to animal charges and is out on bond, awaiting her arraignment.
Both of her homes, one on Champions Point in the Fox Den Subdivision in West Knoxville, and the other on Tazewell Pike in North Knoxville, have now been condemned.
Animal control authorities tell 6 news, the temperature inside the house was 143 degrees when they first opened the door. Inside, they say, it looked and smelled worse than the city dump.
The cats found dead inside were decomposing, some of them already mummified. The ones found alive were very skinny. They were also covered with fleas and ear mites.
Authorities say they also found a dead cat inside the dishwasher and a mummified cat in the chandelier.
The Executive Director of Knox County Animal Control David Head says what food and water was found at the home, could not be consumed. "Most of the food had other animals in it. Say maggots, fleas, the water had green slime and mold in the water bowls."
Pathologist Robert Donnell at the UT School of Veterinary Medicine is helping perform necropsies on some of the animals. That's the same thing as an autopsy.
Pathologists will study the animal tissues to determine the cause of death. It will help determine if the cats died of starvation, dehydration or excessive heat.
Necropsy results could take up to four weeks to complete. Pathologists will turn over their findings to the District Attorney General's office.
Meanwhile, the animal control officers who worked the case are mentally and emotionally exhausted.
It took them seven days to search the two homes and compile evidence for the case. Authorities say they have to treat the homes just as they would a crime scene. They have to photograph and mark down everything, watch where they walk and comb through the scene one section at a time.
Head says the filth and squalor in the home made their jobs difficult. "There was no way they could walk without stepping in something or on something that was either covered in feces or dead animals."
Knox County animal control officers could not stay in the home for longer than six hours due to the hazardous working conditions and stench. All they wear during the operations are T-shirts, work pants and waterproof high top boots. They duct tape their pants around the ankles to protect their legs.
Head says they plan to buy environmental suits.
Sexton is due to be arraigned on Friday morning. Prosecutors say they are still investigating the case. More charges may be filed at a later date.
Animal control officers are still looking for seven stray cats around the two homes. They warn you not to try and feed or capture these animals because they are wild cats. | Source: WATE - July 5, 2006
Update posted on Jul 10, 2006 - 1:55PM |
A woman's husband is also facing charges after Knox County animal control officers found dozens of dead cats in their two homes.
Charles Sexton has been charged with seven counts of cruelty to animals. His wife, Sylvia Sexton, is charged with 26 counts of cruelty to animals.
Authorities say the two homes they served search warrants on were filthy. The floors were covered with feces and carcasses. Some of the cats had been dead so long, their bodies were mummified.
Sylvia Sexton waived her arraignment Friday. Her husband will be arraigned on July 13.
Despite the shocking nature of this case, 6 News wondered why the couple face misdemeanor charges.
Authorities say it's routine in a case such as this one. Although, Tennessee law now allows severe cases of abuse to be tried as felony aggravated abuse cases, this is not one of them.
Prosecutors say this is the first offense for both of the Sextons. That's why they face misdemeanor charges.
This also means the couple will spend very little, if any, time in jail at all.
Animal lovers have long criticized Tennessee's lax animal cruelty laws.
"I wish that more jail time and higher fines were available for cases of animal cruelty in the state of Tennessee," says Vicky Crosetti, Executive Director of the Humane Society of Tennessee Valley.
Knox County animal control authorities tell 6 News they are very frustrated. They've been fighting to toughen Tennessee's cruelty laws for years. David Head says it's been an uphill battle.
They've been pushing to change cruelty cases to a Class E felony, which means three to five years of mandatory jail time for those who abuse animals.
Head adds that things are a lot better now than they were five years ago. Animal cruelty used to be tried in City Court then. Abusers got away by paying a $25 fine.
Now, it's a misdemeanor crime. Offenders could end up in jail for up to 11 months and 29 days, and pay a fine of up to $2,500.
Despite the change, animal advocates say they rarely see such stiff penalties enforced.
Defense Attorney Norman McKellar declined to comment after court on Friday morning. He also did not return 6 News calls for a comment. | Source: WATE - July 7, 2006
Update posted on Jul 10, 2006 - 1:52PM |
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