Crime & Safety

How Did the 40 Animals Die? Howard County Police to Obtain Lab Tests

A total of 40 dead animals were found in a Columbia home last week. No one has been charged.

Howard County police are delving deeper into why with no food or water in a Columbia townhome last week, and are ordering lab tests to determine how and when the animals died.

No charges have been filed as of Monday, and police are investigating whether the woman who once occupied the home where the dead animals were found was part of an animal rescue group, according to Howard County Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Schroen.

They have requested to interview the woman, whose name police have not released, as she has not been charged. She has not yet come in for questioning, Schroen said Monday.

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, Jan. 16, police found the animals in a townhouse on the 9600 block of Lambeth Court after a property manager reported odors. Nineteen of those dead animals were in a freezer, including birds, rabbits, a guinea pig and a hermit crab, police said.

Police said they also found dead birds, cats, rabbits and a snake, in cages and in other areas around the home.

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They found four live animals as well, which are doing well, but are not ready for adoption, Schroen said Monday.

At the time the animals were found, the heat and water had been turned off in the house. Animals in cages had no food or water, despite there being pet food in the house, police said. Animals that roamed the home also had no access to food and water, according to investigators.

Police located the woman who once occupied the home two days later, on Jan. 18, residing at another home in Columbia. There were animals in that home as well, but police said they were in “good health.”

“There was not evidence to support seizing them,” Schroen said.

Neighbors on Lambeth Court told ABC 7 that a couple residing in the home where the dead animals were found had moved away about six months ago. Until recently, they been coming around regularly, neighbors told the television station.  

Schroen said police are trying to determine how long ago the woman moved away from the Lambeth Court home and who was responsible for caring for the animals there.

Lab results will help police determine how and when the animals died, she said.

After they are received, police said they will meet with the Howard County State’s Attorneys Office to discuss the possibility of charges.

“This could be several weeks,” Schroen said. “The investigation into the affiliation with rescue organizations and what her role may have been is ongoing.”


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