NEW BERLIN, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — New York State Police have arrested four people in connection to an animal abuse case in the Town of New Berlin after dozens of animals were found dead and neglected.
The police released new details on Tuesday, May 21, at a press conference held at the Susquehanna SPCA in Cooperstown. The police said that on April 21, they received an anonymous tip through the SPCA regarding a farm on Clark Lane and Pig Farm Lane in New Berlin.
After launching an investigation, state police executed a search warrant on April 26.
“What we found was remarkable and beyond the scale of anything that I’ve ever seen,” said New York State Police Captain Mark Barbera, Troop D Zone 1 Commander.
During the search warrant, a disturbing discovery was made.
“It’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen. The neglect, the cruelty that was evident on the farm was from years of neglect,” said Barbera.
Police said two dozen animals were found dead, and 107 were left malnourished, including horses, pigs, donkeys, cats, dogs, llamas and other animals.
“The scale was beyond what we had thought we were prepared for. We were prepared 70 evidence tags thinking we’ll have more than enough evidence tags with 70. We ended up having to make another 37 to accommodate. We also had to have an excavator come on property to have the deceased animals properly cared for and buried in the ground,” said Barbera.
“It wasn’t hard to determine what we were going to face because there were dead animals right near the road. There were a handful of dead animals in the creek when you walked up to the home,” said Stacie Haynes, executive director of the Susquehanna SPCA.
State police say the animals that were recovered were lacking the most basic elements of care their owners should have been providing.
“One of the things that we did locate was basically a graveyard of cattle bones. I’ts even hard to ask me how many animals actually died there,” said Barbera.
NYSP also says they found a pack of sheep roaming through the woods near the property that are now essentially wild animals. They also found peacocks and feral cats on the property that were not able to be rescued.
“I could tell right away these animals were sick, and the veterinarians said they these animals have to be removed immediately. One of the horses stood up and then immediately fell down,” said Barbera.
The Susquehanna SPCA is currently caring for nearly 100 of the animals that were rescued and has spent over $30,000 caring for these animals. The Chenango County SPCA is also taking care of the rescued cats. The other animals have been placed in foster care.
Since the rescue, two animals did not make it due to their current condition when they were found. Another animal also had to be euthanized due to the severity of their condition.
The four people arrested, include:
44-year-old Dominick E. Brown. Brown was charged with nine counts of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals, 95 counts of misdemeanors including, torturing and injuring animals.
74-year-old Jane Richards. Richards was charged with nine counts of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals and 87 counts of misdemeanors including, torturing and injuring animals.
56-year-old Helen Goude. Goude was charged with two counts of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals and 87 counts of misdemeanors including, torturing and injuring animals.
60-year-old Katheriena Goude. Goude was charged with two counts of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals and 3 counts of misdemeanor, including, torturing and injuring animals.
All four are scheduled to be arraigned in New Berlin Town Court on Wednesday, May 22.
New York State Environmental Conservation, New York State Forest Rangers, New Berlin Police, Chenango County and Susquehanna SPCA, and the Office of Emergency Management assisted in this case.
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