FARMINGTON – A New Sharon woman appeared before the Franklin County Superior Court Friday, attempting to retain possession of a number of animals seized by the Animal Welfare Project following an alleged assault on a state trooper with a stun gun.
Carol Murphy, 65, of 248 Lane Road in New Sharon, is being held on a variety of charges following the incident, which reportedly occurred on Oct. 14. A Maine State Trooper had responded to the home with an arrest warrant for $1,985 in unpaid fines, after police received a complaint from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that Murphy had pets in her home.
Possession of animals would be in violation of a court order Murphy incurred after a 2004 guilty verdict for cruelty to animals and four counts of failing to have a license for exotic animals. In 2004, after the jury returned the guilty verdict, Murphy was sentenced to six months in jail with all but 24 hours suspended, fined and banned for life from having animals.
After receiving the complaint, Trooper Aaron Turcotte went to her home and advised her he had a warrant for her arrest. According to Turcotte’s statement, Murphy “told [him] the warrant was no good and [he] could not arrest her” and then went back inside her house. When Turcotte opened the screen to knock on the ajar storm door, he claimed he could detect the presence of animals.
“I could smell a strong odor of feces coming from inside the home. Several dogs barked,” he said and later added he also heard a donkey bray from somewhere in her house.
Murphy then appeared at the door and allegedly hit Turcotte with a stun gun to the face, knocking him back. Turcotte then subdued Murphy with pepper spray and arrested her. She was transported to Franklin County Detention Center and the state police contacted Maine Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Program.
Christine Fraser, a veterinarian with the AWP, testified at Friday’s hearing that she and other personnel went to the residence on the Lane Road. There they discovered 26 animals ranging from dogs and cats to birds to a miniature donkey and pot-bellied pig.
“Did you have concerns about the condition of the residence?” Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson asked.
“Yes,” Fraser said. “As soon as we opened the door we were struck be the strong smell of feces and urine. High ammonia levels.” She went on to explain that high levels of ammonia could damage the respiration systems of animals and people.
According to the AWP, animals were discovered in crates and cages, often without food and water. Many were below-average in weight and clinically dehydrated. One dog, termed ‘Dog3’ in Fraser’s notes, registered as a one on the nine-point Laflamme Scale, classifying it as “emaciated.”
“I could reach a hand across her pelvic bone,” Fraser said, adding that any longer and the dog would have been incapable of standing by itself.
The animals had been infested with fleas, ear mites and many had ear infections. In many cases, the space allotted to each animal was inadequate, Fraser said. She noted that the pot-bellied pig, a 300-pound animal, was placed in a crate which pressed against its snout and tail. Two animals, a bird and a chinchilla, later died in state custody from what Fraser believed were conditions inherited from the Lane Road home.
“Would you describe any of these animals as having clean and humane conditions?” Robinson asked.
“No,” Fraser responded.
Murphy, acting as her own attorney, questioned Fraser about the events preceding her 2004 conviction. She was repeatedly asked by Justice Michaela Murphy to restrict her questions to the matter at hand.
“Were you involved in the 2004 theft of my animals?” Murphy asked Fraser.
Murphy claimed that her animals had no food or water because she had been in custody for “a day and a half,” that she was using anti-flea medication and that she regularly brought the animals to see a veterinarian. Fraser noted that would have surprised her, as most vets would likely have known Murphy was barred from owning animals for life.
“You left my animals alone to poop and pee on the floor without any water or food,” Murphy said. “I call that animal cruelty. What do you call it?”
Murphy also said that her 2004 conviction had not been legal, as the state of Maine’s case had been “void” after committing “36 criminal counts.” She accused the state of failing to “respond to a judicial challenge” and said that they could not charge her because she was an individual, not a corporation.
Justice Michaela Murphy heard Murphy’s arguments and then ordered the fines be paid off through service in jail. Murphy was given $100 for each day spent in jail, as she awaits the decision of the grand jury on the latest charges, which is expected to rise in the next few days.
The custody dispute over the animals, now in state care, was not resolved. Murphy told the court that she intended to call herself as a witness, with that hearing scheduled to be completed at the end of the month. Robinson noted that the state was eager to determine who had custody of the animals, in order to potentially start placing them with families.
Murphy is expected to be back in court on Jan. 22, 2010, facing a contempt of court allegation in regards to her possession of animals despite court orders to the contrary. Depending on the nature of the charges potentially levied against her by the grand jury on the assault allegation, she may face additional legal action earlier in the month as well.
