Hoarding - 40 cat carcasses in freezer
Fort Edward, NY (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Sep 18, 1999
County: Washington
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Joan M. Riley
Joan Riley, 50, was charged with 69 counts of cruelty when authorities confirmed she had kept the bodies of 40 cats stacked in her freezer.
Neighbors alerted Riley's landlord when they saw her trying to hide a black trash bag and a large container in the bushes behind the apartment building. The trash bag contained 24 frozen or thawing cats and kittens, the container had 16 cat bodies in it.
David Jones, landlord of the apartment, called the SPCA to let them know about the trash bag and container of partially frozen cat bodies.
The officials caught Riley Sunday trying to dispose of the frozen cat and kitten carcasses while she was moving out of the apartment. Her landlord evicted Riley after finding 30 or more cats living in her apartment. The neighbors had been complaining of an odor coming from the apartment.
Riley told the SPCA that the cats were her babies and that she wouldn't do anything to hurt them. "I love my cats so much. Burying them is a task I avoid. I just kept putting it off and putting it off and they kept building up in the freezer."
The SPCA did not accept Riley's explanation. The SPCA Director Cathy Cloutier said, "I wouldn't put it in a Ziplock bag and put it in the freezer."
Riley was arrested Sunday one day after authorities conducted a search of her new Washington County residence in Fort Edward. Her arrest was made by the Fort Edward police.
When the investigators searched her home on Saturday, they found 30 live cats. Most of the cats were ill with an infectious respiratory disease. One of them was so ill it dropped dead as authorities passed through the home during the investigation.
The SPCA Director said, "It was disgusting. There were cats with mucus pouring out of their nose and lungs sounding like pneumonia. One cat had no eyes. Another died at the scene. The cats were taken into custody by the SPCA. Thirteen of the seized cats had to be euthanized."
Riley has been placed on a $25,000 bail and is being held at the Washington County Correctional Facility. References- Associated Press - Sept 21, 1999
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