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Cat and five kittens dead in ‘filthy’ house
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Humane Agents Christopher Flak and Kymberly Woodburn remove a dead cat and five dead kittens and round up two dogs at 437 Division St. on Youngstown’s West Side. They were at the home Monday afternoon as the occupants remained jailed on burglary charges out of Austintown. Flak said animal-cruelty charges likely will be filed. The house was filthy and contained suspected drug paraphernalia, he said.
Occupants of house also face burglary charges
and Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
Humane agents removed a dead cat and five dead kittens Monday afternoon from a house at 437 Division St. on the city’s West Side.
Two live mixed-breed dogs and a live bird also were removed from the house, said Christopher Flak, an agent from Animal Charity in Boardman.
The occupants of the house have been jailed since their arrest last week by Austintown police on burglary charges, he said.
Charged with burglary, possessing criminal tools and receiving stolen property in the Austintown case are Christina Snyder, 23; Sarah Daniel, 26; and Taylor Carnell, 22, all listing the Division Street house as their address.
The dogs, which appeared to be “somewhat dehydrated,” were taken to Animal Charity for veterinary care, and the bird to a foster-care location, Flak said. “The bird seems to be fine,” he said, adding he wasn’t sure what type of bird it is.
“The house was filthy inside, feces all over, primarily on the second floor of the home. There was drug paraphernalia” in the house, Flak said.
“It was extremely deplorable. ... We didn’t see any viable water source. There was no cat food, no cat litter box, nothing to indicate that they had cats at all, except for the dead animals,” said Kymberly Woodburn, another Animal Charity humane agent.
A necropsy will be performed on the cat and her kittens to determine how they died, she said.
The kittens appear to have been 4 to 5 weeks old when they died, she said. “There were some punctures on their bodies indicative of maybe a bite wound,” she added.
Second-degree misdemeanor animal-cruelty charges likely will be filed, Flak said. “It’s evident that there are issues of animal cruelty just by the conditions the animals were living in,” he said.
Snyder, Daniel and Carnell are accused of entering a residence on North Turner Road at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and taking a laptop, a TV, a jewelry box with several pieces of jewelry and an envelope containing $300 to $500.
A sliding door window was severely damaged, police said.
Austintown police said they found the stolen items and the suspected burglary tools in the suspects’ vehicle.
The humane agents were accompanied by city police when they visited the Division Street house.
Austintown police came to the house to check for possible additional evidence in the burglary case.
City housing inspectors, one wearing a protective suit, also were on the scene to examine the premises.
Snyder, Daniel and Carnell all appeared Monday before Judge Lou D’Apolito in Austintown court.
Snyder and Carnell are being detained on a $25,000 cash/surety bond and asked for legal counsel to be provided for the burglary charge. Carnell, Snyder and Daniel pleaded not guilty to the receiving stolen property charge and are being detained on a $2,500 bond. Daniel also is being detained on a $25,000 bond on the burglary charge.
All three have a trial for the receiving stolen property charge set for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Austintown court.
They also will all have a preliminary hearing for the burglary charge at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Austintown court.
Snyder also is facing charges in Boardman for possession of drug-abuse instruments. A court date has not been set.