Pet-Abuse.Com - US Animal Abuse Cases - Murray, KY: Neglect

Animal Abuse Cases - Details

Neglect - dead horses, cat and dog - (Murray, KY - US)

Crime Date: 01/05/2005
Case Status: Alleged
Case Updates: Available - Click Here
Abusers/Suspects:

Case Report

A Murray State University nursing professor and her daughter are wanted by animal control officials after four dead animals and several others that were malnourished and dehydrated were found on a Lexington farm.

Nathan Bowling, chief of the Lexington Humane Society's Division of Animal Care and Control, confirmed to the Lexington Herald-Leader that his office is looking for Nancy Nygaard and her daughter, Kathleen Nygaard, who were involved in the animals' care.

Kathleen Nygaard had leased about 45 acres and two barns from Chuck and Shawn Deppen, who own the farm at 305 South Yarnallton Pike, Chuck Deppen said.

Animal control officials found two horses, a dog and a cat dead on the property on Wednesday. They also found four dehydrated and malnourished horses and three sick dogs, which were in the care of local veterinarians on Thursday. The Deppens are tending to about 20 other horses still on the property. Two other dogs are being housed at the Lexington Humane Society.

Nancy Nygaard, 63, is a full-time instructor in the College of Health Sciences and Human Services at Murray State University. According to Murray State's Web site, she formerly was director of the school's Division of Graduate Nursing and chairwoman of its Department of Nursing.

Bowling said more people might be involved. He said the investigation could result in charges ranging from licensing violations to cruelty.

Case Updates

Posted: Jan 16, 2005 - 9:24 PM

Nancy and Kathleen Nygaard, wanted on several second-degree animal cruelty charges stemming from dead and starving horses found at a farm they leased in Lexington, turned themselves in to Lexington authorities on Friday night after an attempt to locate them for ten days had provided few clues to their whereabouts.

The pair bonded out of jail on Saturday, Lexington police Lieutenant Thomas Curtsinger told the Lexington Herald-Leader. Second-degree animal cruelty is considered to be a Class A misdemeanor and carries penalties of as much as $500 or up to 12 months in jail.

Nancy Nygaard and her daughter, Kathleen, were charged with six counts of animal cruelty sought by the Lexington Humane Society. Two dead Thoroughbreds, a dead dog, and a dead cat were found at Four Winds Farm, the 45-acre property leased by Kathleen Nygaard on south Yarnallton Pike in northwest Lexington, along with several other malnourished horses.

Carrie Trapp, a spokesperson for the Lexington Humane Society, said that the fate of the animals depends on the outcome of the trial, and that owners of the animals have not been determined.

The property was leased from Chuck and Shawn Deppen, who are the owners of the farm. Shawn Deppen told the newspaper that the Nygaards had been given an eviction notice after not keeping up with their payments on the property, and had been seen on the farm "fairly often" during the spring and summer.

In 2003, the condition of horses owned by the Nygaards and located on a farm in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky where Murray The Nygaards are scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday at 1 p.m. EST in Lexington-Fayette County District Court.

Source: Throroughbred Times - Jan 16, 2005

References

- Jan 7, 2005