Crime & Safety

Attorney: Husband to Blame in Animal Deaths

Howard County state's attorney's office officials say the case "epitomizes cruelty."

 

The attorney for the Columbia woman police found in a townhome in January said her husband was responsible for the care of the animals that had been found dead, starving or dehydrated.

Court officials said Elizabeth Martha Lindenau’s defense attorney, Jonathan Smith, argued during trial this week that “Lindenau and her husband had moved to another Columbia address and, as the townhouse lease was expiring, Decker was responsible for the rescued animals still domiciled there.”

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Lindenau, 40, of the 9400 block of Hundred Drums Row, is charged with 60 counts of animal cruelty, the Howard County State’s Attorney’s office said.

She has pleaded not guilty.

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Brady Decker, Lindenau’s husband, also has been indicted—he faces 69 counts of animal cruelty charges, according to online court records. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Howard County Circuit Court on Friday, records show. 

Howard County State’s Attorney’s office spokesman Wayne Kirwan said that Assistant State’s Attorney Tiffany Vaira told the jurors during opening statements this week that the case “epitomizes cruelty.” 

Vaira said that necropsies performed on 20 dead exotic birds, rabbits and cats would reveal that the “emaciated” animals suffered from starvation and dehydration, according to Kirwan.

Howard County police and animal control officers responded to the 9600 block of Lambeth Court on Jan. 16 following a report from a property manager of odor coming from a townhouse. Officers discovered four live animals in poor condition and 40 dead animals in a grisly scene that made headlines across Maryland.

Lindenau has been associated with The Bailey Foundation, a bird rescue organization, according to Explore Howard.

"She had nothing to do with the animals being neglected," said her attorney in court this week, according to the Howard County Times. "This is a woman who has devoted her life to animals."

The trial is expected to continue into next week, according to Kirwan.

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