'Smell of death': Charges filed after neglected, dead animals found in Hamlin

Animal abuse charges have been filed in Wayne County against the owners of severely malnourished animals that were rescued after being found in deplorable living conditions. Decomposing animals were also found.

Zackariah Sheatler, 21, of Lake Ariel, and Morgana McGee, 19, of Carbondale, have been arrested and charged with 13 misdemeanor counts of neglect of animals and three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals - torture.

Sheatler was charged with an additional five counts of aggravated cruelty to animals - causing death. The cruelty charges are third-degree felonies.

Their next court date is scheduled for Oct. 6, a clerk said Friday. Bail was set at $50,000 for each defendant.

Griffin Pond Animal Shelter rescued 13 animals from a trailer in Hamlin, where 10 others were found deceased. The rescued animals included 10 dogs, described by the shelter as anemic, flea-infested and emaciated; two cats and one chameleon.

On July 28, at approximately 5:45 p.m., Humane Society Police Officer Marci Zeiler received a call about a few loose dogs roaming around a camper in Hamlin. The caller described the dogs as being skin and bones.

Zeiler said "the caller told me another witness went to get food for them, and then around 10 or 11 dogs jumped out of a broken window of the camper. The witnesses took pictures and sent them to me. When I saw the condition of these dogs, I immediately got a warrant to remove the animals from the camper with the help of the Honesdale PSP."

Zeiler, who was on the scene into the next day, said by the time she arrived, no animals were visible outside, "but I was immediately hit with the smell of death… a very potent smell of a decomposing body. The owners were home and began bringing the animals out one by one, claiming the dogs had just always been thin."

Outside, there was "a black garbage bag covered in maggots with a dead dog inside," said Zeiler.

Zeiler lamented on the situation as she described the conditions of the trailer when she walked in. "There was a significant amount of bugs, and the smell required a respirator to enter due to the extreme amount of urine, feces, vomit and decomposition odors. It was a hoarding situation, that you couldn't even walk through there."

More: 200 dogs and other animals rescued from Pocono home

"In the back room of the camper, I found multiple decomposed, unbagged animals that I assumed were rabbits, as well as another dog in a garbage bag. It was mostly liquified from decomposition and the bag was filled with maggots," she said.

According to Zeiler, Sheatler admitted to killing some dogs by strangulation and killing rabbits. "McGee claimed that her boyfriend had killed four other dogs at a different property. Sheatler admitted to killing those dogs as well, by drowning and strangulation," Zeiler said.

Zeiler said she believes the owners were animal flipping. "It appears they were acquiring all of their animals from rehoming 'free' pages on Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist ads and then selling them."

"It's very dangerous to rehome a pet this way, not really knowing the situations they can end up in when references or checks aren't being required to make sure your animals are going where you think they are going to," Zeiler said. "If there is a lesson to be learned here, it is that we hope you will reconsider before giving away your pets to strangers. These situations happen daily and if we’re being honest, these are the lucky ones. Others in the home didn’t make it."

These dogs were vetted and assessed. Some have been placed in foster homes and the rest are being monitored at the facility and through medical fosters.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Wayne County: Couple charged with cruelty for neglected, dead animals