PENNSYLVANIA -- A Newville woman was sentenced to 2 to 23 months in Cumberland County Prison for her role in an animal cruelty case in which nine cats died.
Michele Lynn Ryan, 48, faced 69 total counts of cruelty to animals and 20 counts of failing to give the cats their required vaccinations.
Michel Ryan and Timothy Michael Weltmer (aka Timothy Weltmer, Tim Weltmer), 44, were accused of abandoning 21 cats in their West Street apartment for several weeks in July 2011.
The cruelty to animals charges were broken down to cruelty resulting in malicious death, denying veterinary care, abandonment and failing to provide sustenance.
When officers were called to the filthy apartment July 13, 2011, they found 12 flea-infested, starving cats and the bodies of eight dead cats, in various stages of decomposition.
Additionally, one cat died shortly after it was rescued with 12 others and taken to the Better Days Animal League shelter in Shippensburg.
Many of the cats were in better condition but only because they had lived off the carcasses of the animals that had died, police said.
The evidence suggests the animals were abandoned without food or water for several weeks, according to police.
Investigators used the electrical bill of the former tenants to create a timeline. The tenants had abandoned the apartment and the cats without notifying the landlady, who only visited the property after being advised that the electricity had been shut off, police said.
The tenants left without clearing out food from either the refrigerator or the cupboards, which led to a maggot infestation.
Investigators found the tenants staying with relatives only 300 yards from the apartment, according to police.
Both were taken to jail after being charged Aug. 2. Weltmer posted his $12,000 monetary bail later that day and Ryan posted her $12,000 bail Aug. 4.
Ryan pleaded guilty to nine misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals, 10 summary counts of cruelty to animals and 10 summary counts of not having the cats vaccinated on Aug. 8.
Judge M.L. Ebert said he went beyond the sentencing guidelines of probation to one month in jail for Ryan, because of the number of animals involved. The judge also said that a lesser sentence would “depreciate” the severity of the crime.
Weltmer is scheduled for trial on similar charges in the next trial term, to start on Monday.
Assistant Public Defender Brian Williams is representing Weltmer in the case, while attorney Gregory Abeln was appointed by the court to represent Ryan.
(The Sentinel - Oct 10, 2012)
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