The search was concentrated in the Town of Palmyra, near the Marion border. As they looked road to road, one Deputy came across a barn, he believed to be abandoned. Upon checking the area in and around the abandoned property, at 2666 Lyon Road in Palmyra, Deputy Lucia stumbled across a gruesome sight. Just inside the barn, he observed a dead horse.
With the assistance of a Veterinarian David Scoville, District Attorney Healy and the County’s animal abuse investigators, a warrant to search the entire property and seize the horse’s carcass was obtained from Marion Town Justice Sam Bonafede.
The Cracker Box Palace, from Sodus, assisted with the removal of the carcass to the forensic lab at Cornell University. There, a necropsy was performed and the animal’s cause of death was later determined to be starvation.
Further investigation led Sheriff’s Investigators to find a the decaying carcass of another horse, who had died several months earlier. That horse lie in an open field several hundred yards from the barn.
Sheriff’s Investigator Allen Graham spotted a picture inside the abandoned residence showing the alleged owner with three horses.
Police then received a call from stable in the Town of Rush. They reported a woman had brought in a horse for boarding. The stable reported the severely emaciated animal was close to death. That horse was seized as evidence.
Wayne County District Attorney, Rick Healy, presented the evidence to a grand jury on Tuesday (6/17). The property/horse owner, Christine Mulcahy (aka Christina Mulcahy), age 23, of Broadmore Trail in Fairport, was indicted on two counts of Cruelty to Animals.
Mulcahy turned herself in to investigators at the Sheriff’s Office in Lyons on Tuesday. In her statements to police, Mulcahy stated that she did indeed own the horses and property in Palmyra.
Police asked her what had happened to the horse found dead in the stable.
“I couldn’t take care of him. He died. It’s my fault. I loved that horse, but I couldn’t get rid of him, or ask for help. I should have asked for help, but I didn’t,” admitted Mulcahy.
Asked by the police if she believed the horse (Gunner) died from starvation, she answered “Yes, I tried to care for him the best I could, but was unable to care for him.”
She admitted she found the horse dead in the gated stall.
Mulcahy further stated she felt terrible about the death and would take “any punishment they want to give me.” She also said in her statement that she realized they (the horses) were starving. “That’s why I made arrangements for Stormie to be boarded in Rush.”
As for the horse found dead and decaying in a nearby field, Mulcahy said she believed it died from a heart attack. Healy said it will be difficult to prove otherwise due to the extent of decay.
She was arraigned on the indictment in the Wayne County Court. Bail was set at $750 cash / $1500 bond and Mulcahy was committed to the Wayne County Jail. She was later released after posting bail.
This is not the first time Mulcahy has been charged with abusing animals.
Records show Mulcahy and a Kyle Jopson were arrested in 2012 for Cruelty to a Animal after a dog was found to be emaciated at the same Palmyra address. In that case Jopson pled guilty. Charges against Mulcahy were dropped after she had promised to give up the six horses found on the property at the time who ere also reported to be underfed.
“She obviously failed to do so,” said District Attorney Healy. He said he would seek a “lengthy jail sentence” for Mulcahy in this latest case. She could be sentenced to one year in jail for each of the two charges of Animal Cruelty.
(Wayne Times - June 20, 2014)
Earlier:
New York: Cops say Perinton woman Christine Mulcahy accused of killing horses
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