Las Vegas police find 42 animals deceased in home freezer: ‘Smell of death’

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Officers found dozens of animals deceased in a freezer in the kitchen of a cluttered home as part of an ongoing animal abuse and hoarding case.

Boulder City police arrested Carolyn Luke, 72; and Timothy Miller, 79, in March. Last month, a judge sentenced each to a suspended jail sentence on multiple animal abuse charges.

In March, after receiving a tip about the animals, a Boulder City police officer stopped the car for a broken taillight, documents said. The officer “observed several chunks of fur” on the vehicle’s center console while speaking with Luke and Miller.

“When the occupants rolled down a window, officers could smell dead animals inside the car,” officers said in a news release. In all, police and animal control officers found 51 guinea pigs and rabbits, including the 11 deceased animals.

During the Boulder City stop, Luke told police the couple was heading to California to give some of the guinea pigs to a friend, documents obtained Monday said. Luke and Miller reportedly told police they would find more animals at their Las Vegas home and at a nearby hotel, documents said.

Employees at the west valley hotel evicted Luke and Miller due to repeated animal complaints, including the “smell of death” coming from the room, according to documents. Inside the room, police found 39 guinea pigs, 21 live dogs and 12 deceased dogs, including several other animals, documents said.

Inside the southwest valley home, police said they found 21 live dogs, 38 guinea pigs and 12 deceased dogs, police said. Inside a freezer in the kitchen, officers located 42 deceased animals, including 30 guinea pigs and four small dogs.

An animal control report shows officers made numerous attempts to enter the home before the discovery. Officers entered the home on March 30 after obtaining a search warrant.

In an interview with police, Miller reportedly said she took multiple animals to the hotel “to hide them from neighbors and animal control officers,” documents said. She referred to the animals as “her babies,” police said.

Luke and Miller each face 14 animal abuse-related charges in connection with their Las Vegas case. They were due in court in August and ordered not to have any animals.

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