News: New York City Cop Accused of Rape

(Long Island, N.Y.) A twenty-nine-year-old woman is suing New York City for $62 million after accusing a police officer of raping her while another officer sat in the next room of her apartment. The incident occurred in December of 2008 and the officers had been called by a taxi driver to help assist the intoxicated woman home after a night of partying. The woman, a fashion executive, claims she was celebrating an out-of-state job advancement with friends.

The woman allegedly got sick in the taxi after the driver picked her up from a Park Slope club and had to pull over on a street in Brooklyn. Some reports have claimed that the woman’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit. Though the woman’s memory of the incident is believed to be compromised, video cameras and a recorded conversation place the officers at her apartment during four separate visits that evening.

Reports stated that once the woman arrived at her apartment, she claims to have remembered a deep voice telling her to drink water as she was vomiting in the bathroom and the back and forth of police two-ways. She also remembers waking up lying face down on her mattress, the sound of Velcro snapping, and her tights being pulled off. Reports stated that she faded in and out of consciousness as the officer raped her, and that she was too drunk to move from the bed.

The defense claims that according to the woman’s grand jury testimony, she was too drunk to remember how much she drank, getting into a taxi, how she got home, and conversations with the driver. The defense also claims that she didn’t remember how she got from the bathroom to the bedroom.

The officer’s lawyer claims that she couldn’t identify the police in a lineup or from pictures and was unable to distinguish which times they entered her apartment from the camera footage. The forty-three-year-old officer is accused of raping her while the twenty-year-old officer kept lookout.

The woman claims she woke up the next morning face down in the same position on her mattress wearing nothing but her bra. She told a friend who persuaded her to go to authorities. The woman admits taking a shower, and sought help from the District Attorney’s office because she was wary of police officers. DNA evidence is not a factor in this case.

After taking advice from the District Attorney’s office, the woman wore a wire attached to her watch while she confronted the officer outside his workplace at the East Village 9th Precinct Stationhouse. She questioned him about the incident, after thanking him for getting her home, and wanted to know whether he had used a condom. After denying that anything happened, the officer eventually told her he did. He also was taped apologizing and claiming that things got “really crazy.”

While the taped recording will have a major role in the case, the defense claims that the officer was simply appeasing the woman who had threatened to cause a scene in the stationhouse. The officer’s attorney claims that the officer was just trying to comfort the woman during the taped conversation. The defense’s attempt to remove the indictment on account of the woman’s compromised memory was denied.

A second visit to the woman’s residence that night came after the officers allegedly asked another resident to let them in because they were investigating a noise complaint. Also, a dubious report was made causing the officers to return, and the woman claims the officers had previously stolen her key to get inside. A camera from the bar below the woman’s apartment shows the officers hiding their faces.

The defense claims that the officers, who could face twenty-five years in prison if convicted, had promised to check on her. They have been suspended until a review can be made after the trial.

News: 23-Year-Old Woman Murdered in NYC

(Long Island, N.Y.) In the early hours of last Sunday a twenty-three-year-old woman named Sarah Coit was killed by her thirty-three-year-old boyfriend. The two lived together and it is believed that they were arguing prior to the incident. Coit was stabbed repeatedly and savagely, and her killer has been charged with second-degree murder.

The boyfriend, who had seven prior domestic violence incidents between 2001 and 2004, was arrested last year on unrelated assault charges. The previous domestic violence incidents involved two of his past girlfriends. After turning himself in, he was held without bail and placed on a suicide watch.

Coit had been planning to leave her boyfriend, whom many referred to as abusive and controlling. Sources say she had arranged for her parents to help her with the move. Instead, reports have stated that her boyfriend deliberately stabbed her in the face with knives from a wooden butcher block. Sources claim that he intended to prevent her from leaving and was set on destroying her beautiful face.

As part of his taped confession, her boyfriend stated that she began the incident by coming at him with a knife. Nonetheless, Coit was nearly decapitated and suffered a skull fracture from a blunt object prior to death. The fatal blow was to the left side of her back, leaving a gaping wound that exposed her organs. Some reports have claimed that a piece of knife was recovered from one of her head wounds.

Neighbors of Coit say that she was screaming for help during an estimated twenty minutes between two and two-thirty Sunday morning. Neighbors say that they tried to locate her by yelling back, but she wasn’t able to reveal her location. Her boyfriend fled the scene by taking a cab to Penn Station, still in bloody clothes, and called his father for advice.

After his father persuaded him to turn himself in, he told the police that he fought with his girlfriend and didn’t know if she was still conscious. The 9th Precinct was just ten blocks away, and he arrived within an hour after the incident.

Police arrived at the third-floor apartment in the Lower East Side and asked Coit if she was capable of letting them into the locked entrance. When she said she couldn’t, police kicked open the door. Despite efforts of emergency personnel, Coit was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Hospital.

Coit was a native of Riverside, Connecticut and attended Greenwich High School where she starred on the cross-country team. She attended Hunter College and worked for the company Lacoste. She moved to New York City in 2006 to pursue dreams in advertising, specializing in visual arts.

Reports claimed that her parents and siblings were supportive of her ambitions, and friends have described her as “beautiful, popular, creative, and intelligent.” Her former coach stated that she really enjoyed playing on a team. A former boyfriend claimed that she was a good person and friend, and never had anything bad to say about the man she lived with.

The Manhattan District Attorney is trying to make repeated domestic assault offenses a felony. The Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence and the New York City Family Justice Center has taken steps to adjust to the influx in the number of domestic violence arrests and indictments in recent years.

News: Gilgo Beach Timeline

(Long Island, N.Y.) Since more sets of human remains were found this week as the search moved into Nassau County, police and officials are keeping all possibilities open in their investigation of a serial killer(s). As the search for more evidence continues, this time spanning eastward into Hemlock Cove, authorities have been in communication with other departments that have dealt with similar cases.

Without any confirmed leads, a rough sketch of a possible serial killer has been presented in some reports by experts on the case. It’s likely that the killer has narcissistic and sociopathic qualities, and is a pathological liar and thrill-seeker. The most distinguishable trait of killers in these cases is that they lack empathy and remorse.

It’s likely that the killer follows developments in the case via the news and media, but it’s unlikely that reports will stop him from killing again. It’s possible that the killer is even married and may have children, based on his desire to appear to be leading a normal life. Experts on the case have suggested that it’s likely that the killer may be looking for a new dumpsite in the wake of the attention brought to the Gilgo Beach area.

Investigators have recapped the timeline of events leading to the discovery of more remains in recent searches. The first development in the case began on May 1st, 2010 when New Jersey native Shannan Gilbert went missing from the Oak Beach area. In their search for Gilbert, Suffolk Police and cadaver dogs discovered a human skeleton four miles from Oak Beach at Gilgo. Police expected the remains to belong to Gilbert; the first set of remains was found on December 11th, 2010.

Just two days after the first discovery three more sets of remains were found on December 13th. On January 24th, 2011 all four sets of remains had been identified as Caucasian women in their twenties who had arranged to meet clients on Craigslist the night of their disappearance. Their ages range from twenty-two to twenty-seven years.

After the remains were identified, police discovered that phone calls believed to have come from the killer were made to the sister of a victim after her disappearance on July 12th, 2009. One of the identified victims has been missing since 2007. Sources say that all four of the women were believed to be strangled.

On March 29th, 2011, after snow had melted and the investigation was resumed, a fifth set of remains was found in Suffolk County, causing police to extend their search. On April 4th, 2011 three more sets of remains were found in the area. Of these recent remains, a child no older than five was found in a blanket near the remains of an adult. A human head was found in a plastic bag, and one of the remains showed evidence of dismemberment. Some reports have stated that there was one male among these remains, and one theory claims that the man responsible could have killed a pimp and child of one of his targets.

The two sets of remains found in Nassau County included what sources say is a female skull and vertebra found sitting on the surface of sand and leg bones found stuffed in a black plastic bag. At least one of the unidentified Suffolk victims was found in the same wrapping, and authorities have not ruled out that the remains could be from the same individual.

Some reports have stated that the recent discoveries had been there long enough for roots to grow around them. One theory is that the bones may belong to victims of serial killer Joel Rifkin who once lived in East Meadow. Rifkin dumped his victims hundreds of miles apart in an effort to evade police and claimed to have murdered seventeen women, though he was only convicted of killing nine.

News: Investigating A Serial Killer

(Long Island, N.Y.) Authorities investigating the Gilgo Beach and Jones Beach discoveries have received an estimated six hundred tips with information about a possible serial killer. All tips are processed by the homicide task force, and police urge the public to call Crime Stoppers. All information is considered valuable in the case, no matter the significance.

Today’s search will include a team of four divers from the Marine Bureau searching for evidence submerged in water fifty yards from shore. Reports have stated that officials on the case have announced they will be using sophisticated technology in aircrafts to help aid in the investigation. This morning’s weather has limited investigator’s ground search.

In the meantime, workers on the case have been attempting to profile the man they believe is responsible for killing the four women found in December who have since been identified. Part of the reason the killer may have targeted young prostitutes is because crimes against women of that trade are less likely to be reported. One of the women, who was the last of the four to disappear, was never reported missing.

Authorities working on the case have stated that the killer is bound to make a mistake. Since the disappearance of one of the women, the killer has called the victim’s sister several times using a cell phone in the Madison Square Garden and Times Square area of New York City. Sources have stated that the calls were angry and taunting, making it appear that the killer is confident in his ability to evade police.

Another expert on the case has stated that the killer’s pleasure comes from outsmarting the detectives on the case rather than from the killings. Similar to a drug-induced high, the killer wouldn’t be able to recapture the pleasure once received from the first time killing. If a serial killer is responsible for the killings, he will be the third to target prostitutes in the Long Island area within the past two decades.

The difference among the first set of remains found in December and the remains found in recent weeks have led most officials on the case to consider the possibility of multiple killers. One theory on the case, supporting a single killer, has reasoned that the more recently discovered remains predate the first. Since the recent remains were found more inland in thicker brush, it may suggest that the killer was more confident in his ability to evade police when he dumped the first set closer to Ocean Parkway. Also, an older killer may have been less physically able to travel inland with a body.

The FBI has leant its Behavior Analysis Unit to help target possible suspects in the case. Reports have stated that members of the unit claim the killer is “charming” and able to go about his daily life unnoticed. Supporting this theory, sources have stated that the killer would have had a lot of practice at concealing any psychopathic tendencies and would be skilled at deception. The killer would view his victims as targets, and attempt to lure them into feeling comfortable.

An alternate depiction of the killer is that he is clumsy for leaving the bodies unburied, and may be daring police and authorities to catch him. Some reports have claimed that the killer was lucky that the bodies weren’t found sooner, while other reports claim that the remote, difficult terrain of the dumping grounds suggests that he is not trying to get caught.

News: Update For Jones Beach Discoveries

(Long Island, N.Y.) Today’s search for more evidence involving a serial killer dumping bodies along Long Island barrier beaches included a helicopter and divers. Yesterday’s discoveries of two separate remains have been confirmed as human, but it is still uncertain whether they belong to the same individual. If the remains are from different victims, the body count will reach ten as of search investigations beginning in the area in early December.

The helicopter involved in today’s search was from the Nassau County Police Department. Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano stated to reporters that the forty-acre stretch of land accessed in today’s search would be dangerous to investigators on foot. Instead of using ground searchers, the helicopters will be employed in searching vigorously and filming from above.

The area under scrutiny is located near Jones Beach. Members of Nassau County Police Department Tactical Field Services Station have stated in some reports that the helicopter staff will focus on areas difficult to access by foot. Suspicious locations will be pinpointed by using a GPS, so that ground searchers can canvass those areas later in the week. Police and authorities have stated that their investigation will move from ground searches to other venues; one area that will be searched is Guggenheim Pond, which is located inside a bird sanctuary.

Some reports have claimed that yesterday’s first set of remains was determined to be a human torso located five to six miles west of where remains were found in Suffolk County. Yesterday’s remains were wrapped in a plastic garbage bag, and it was easy to discern that the remains were human. Lab tests confirmed the initial deduction, and a second set of remains was found three hours later.

The first set of remains was found by a state trooper and cadaver-sniffing dog at roughly 11:20am. The location of the first set of remains was near Zach’s Bay at the State Park, which is about a mile and a half east of the Jones Beach tower. The second set, comprising only of a human skull, was found farther east, about a hundred feet from Ocean Parkway within a wildlife sanctuary.

Today’s search went eastward to Hemlock Cove, and no formal ground search was expected to occur. Since the involvement of Suffolk County Police Department divers, authorities have searched land, air, and sea for evidence in the case of a serial killer and any traces of missing person Shannan Gilbert. While divers assessed conditions in the shallow waters of the Great South Bay near Oak Island, the poor weather has kept police from canvassing the ground. The ground search may be postponed to Thursday.

State Police have claimed to be finished with their share of the search within the Jones Beach State Park. The remains found yesterday were located between Jones Beach and the Robert Moses Causeway, causing Ocean Parkway to be closed in both directions. Police and sanitation vehicles blocked traffic from entering, and also provided a mobile sign that advised drivers a beach search would keep roads closed all day.

Though nothing has been confirmed, some reports have stated that yesterday’s remains of a skull and vertebra appear to be female. Reports have also stated that one of the four remains found last week in Suffolk County belonged to that of a toddler. According to these reports, the child victim was no more than five years old, and the remains were found wrapped in a blanket near the remains of an adult. It’s uncertain whether these two sets of remains are linked, but none of the remains belong to that of Gilbert.

News: Tracking the Gilgo Beach Killer

(Long Island, N.Y.) In the past weeks, police and authorities have been involved in a heavy duty search for evidence leading to suspects in a string of murders. Though none have been named, at least nine victims have been found, and sources say that police are already starting to target certain individuals. Emergency Services Unit, K-9 Unit, and the Bureau of Special Operations are among those involved with the investigation and search for evidence of a Long Island serial killer.

The biggest question seems to be how many bodies will be found at the close of the investigation, which is spanning close to the beach season that draws tourists and visitors to areas of the search. Since four of the victims have been identified, another question raised by the investigation is how many other missing persons will be discovered in the quest for missing person Shannan Gilbert. Reports have conflicted concerning whether the first four victims are linked to those of the more recent finds. Nonetheless, police are already attempting to profile a killer.

Some reports have stated that the four women found in December had been strangled. Reports also claimed that one of the women was found with an item around her neck, and the family of one victim received a death certificate that listed “asphyxia” as the cause of death. The FBI has enlisted a Profiling Unit, Behavior Analysis Unit, and Forensic Unit to help aid Nassau and Suffolk County Police. The Profiling Unit has been used to help pinpoint potential suspects, while the Forensic Unit analyzes evidence.

The FBI has also provided technological assistance and equipment to the Suffolk County Police Department, and has aided in searching the computer belonging to the boyfriend of one of the victims. Some reports have stated that the differences among the remains suggest that more than one killer is responsible for the murders. The first set of remains found were wrapped in burlap and dumped relatively close to Ocean Parkway. The second set was not wrapped in burlap, and some were found in plastic garbage bags. Some remains were found further inland and away from the parkway.

Some reports have also stated that police are looking at the similarities between the four women found in December and the four found in Atlantic City in 2006. If the two cases are connected, it could be possible that the killer is targeting women in beach town communities. Other reports have stated that a similar case involving four female victims occurred in Daytona Beach in 2008 and that at least one Atlantic City victim spent time on Long Island prior to her death.

Reports have stated that County Executive Edward Mangano and officials on the case want to send a message that no place in Nassau County is a good place to commit murder. Nonetheless, it is likely that the killer is comfortable with the area, and some researchers following the case claim that the killer may have an extensive knowledge of search procedures. They pinpoint the killer as a white male with above average intelligence, who leads a normal life and is socially organized. They claim that he is not a loner and that his IQ may even exceed 120.

The cadaver-sniffing dogs have played a vital role in the search for remains because of their ability to locate decomposition odors. Followers of the case have deducted that the killer dumped the bodies at night after killing his victims in a separate location. With a dark setting and the secluded location of the roadway, the killer would have been able to see the lights of passing cars miles away. It’s unsure whether the second set of remains found predates the first.

News: Possible Remains Found at Jones Beach

(Long Island, N.Y.) Investigators that have been searching the Gilgo Beach area for evidence of a serial killer have extended their search into Nassau County today and have stumbled across possible remains. Reports have surfaced stating that officials from the office of the Medical Examiner have determined that the remains found are human, but are awaiting confirmation from lab analysis. The results of forensic testing have yet to be released, but authorities are expecting answers in the immediate future.

These remains were found fifty feet from Ocean Parkway and roughly a mile-and-a-half east of the Jones Beach tower. They were discovered between eleven and eleven-thirty this morning by a patrolling state trooper with the help of a cadaver-sniffing dog. Earlier in the day police had discovered several sets of non-suspicious remains that were quickly disregarded and confirmed as animal bones by the medical examiner’s office.

Reports have stated that today’s set of remains is not complete, and does appear to be wrapped in something. Today’s search was extended westward into Nassau County after investigators searched the Suffolk County beaches east of the border and discovered three sets of remains last week. If today’s remains are determined to be human, it would make a total of nine found in the area since early December.

The search today began at nine this morning and targeted five-hundred-and-fifty acres belonging to Jones Beach State Park in Nassau County. Both the ocean-side and bayside of the parkway were canvassed. The parkway will be closed to commuters in both directions until seven tonight.

Since today’s search has yielded an influx of evidence, it’s possible that the search will be extended into tomorrow and the parkway will remain closed. Reports have stated that police and authorities have already announced that roads could be closed longer between the Wantagh Parkway and Robert Moses Causeway if their investigation continues.

Today’s investigation included over a hundred Nassau County Police Officers and State Troopers. The Nassau County Police targeted areas west of the Nassau County border, while State Police searched eastward from the Jones Beach Water Tower. Some reports have stated that Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano was scheduled to hold a news conference by the search area at two this afternoon.

Police and authorities still have not identified the four previous sets of remains found since December’s discovery of the remains of four young women in their twenties. Some reports have claimed that the newer sets of remains were not wrapped in burlap like the original four. The search for Shannan Gilbert, a missing woman from New Jersey, will continue as police wait for results and answers regarding her case. Reports have stated that the police investigating today’s search site, some of which were on horseback, claim that they have taken steps to perfect the methods employed by Suffolk County police during the previous searches.

Nassau Bureau of Special Operations Officers have used hazmat suits to ward of ticks, poison ivy, rough branches, and other dangers. Firefighter volunteers from several fire departments were also involved in today’s search, and ladder trucks from Levittown and Baldwin were used to help investigators see outward of fifty feet. Cadaver-sniffing dogs were also used as members of the press filled up a nearby parking lot.

News: Update for Slain NYPD Officer

(Long Island, N.Y.) The forty-two-year-old man charged with the aggravated murder of forty-two-year-old police officer Alain Schaberger pled not guilty last week to the charges. After a short hearing at Brooklyn Supreme Courthouse, the mother of the man arrested pleaded to authorities. Her son, who was previously held without bail, also pled not guilty to the charge of domestic violence.

The woman allegedly shouted in a hallway of the court saying that her son was innocent as she knelt and held the bible. Other reports have stated that she was carrying a picture of Jesus and wearing large black rosary beads while she swore by the bible. She was later escorted out of the courthouse.

If convicted of the aggravated murder charge, her son could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. The incident began earlier last month after New York City Police from the 84th Precinct responded to a domestic violence call. The man’s girlfriend claimed that he had threatened to kill her; the couple had a longtime history of domestic disturbance incidents. Some reports have stated that at least four restraining orders were violated on the night police responded to the call.

The mother of the accused also claimed that the 84th Precinct policemen were lying about her son’s role in the tragic death of their comrade. The man’s defense attorney claims that his client never touched the officers. Instead, some reports have stated that he blames the incident on the officer’s partner who was larger in size and shoved him over the stoop without noticing. According to this theory, the officer died after having lost his footing and those present at the scene didn’t even notice he had fallen until after they had brought down the man they arrested. The defense claims to have eyewitnesses willing to testify to this alternate take on the events leading to the officer’s death.

The fallen officer’s father has stated that he believes the man responsible for his son’s death will pay. The man had thirty prior arrests before being accused of throwing the officer off a stoop in Boerum Hill. The officer fell nine feet before breaking his neck while the man was being arrested outside his parents’ home.

Among those who attended the hearing were the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and the Police Union president. About a hundred police officers were present, and there weren’t enough spaces available for all of those who wished to be there. The man’s next court appearance is scheduled for June 17th, but he will make it through a video after taking the judge’s suggestion to do so. According to some who attended the hearing, the man wants to deal with the court proceedings from the safety of his own cell.

The funeral for the fallen officer was held at Frederick J. Chapey & Sons Funeral Home. Among those who attended were an estimated five-thousand police officers and members of the United States Navy. Mayor Bloomberg and the Police Commissioner both made eulogies.

The slain officer made the ultimate sacrifice, and sent a message to fellow officers that no call should be considered routine. The funeral was held on the same day as that of a Long Island Police Officer, who was also killed on duty. Many of the officers headed from one funeral to the other, resigning themselves to a full day of grieving.

News: Two Charged in the Murder of DJ Megatron

(Long Island, N.Y.) Police have determined that two killers were responsible for the death of a thirty-two-year-old Staten Island man known as DJ Megatron. The DJ was shot a block away from his Staten Island home at two in the morning on March 27th. The men were brought to Staten Island Criminal Court in handcuffs and shackles for a court appearance on Thursday.

Both alleged killers are Staten Island residents, and authorities believe they stalked the DJ for at least a block before attempting to rob him. After he resisted the robbery, one of the assailants shot him the chest, as police are calling the incident a “robbery gone wrong.” The two men believed to have been responsible for the killing are twenty and twenty-one years old.

The assailants were identified by witnesses as well as video surveillance during moments before and after the actual slaying. Both men have pleaded not guilty to murder, robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon charges. They were held without bail, and some reports claimed that the DJ’s watch and cell phone were stolen before the assailants fled the scene. Grieving family members and friends of the DJ claim that the watch was a gift from the DJ’s eleven-year-old daughter.

Some reports have stated that one of the men admitted to killing the DJ, while others have stated that his lawyer denied the confession. So far, the defense has maintained that no murder weapon was found in the case, making it difficult to link the crimes to the defendants. After the DJ was shot in the chest, he managed to stagger across the street before collapsing.

Both of the men in question have had prior arrests. Some of the previous charges associated with them were for robbery, rape, reckless endangerment, and grand larceny. One of the men involved was on parole and had only been out of prison for a couple of months.

Originally, it was difficult for police to come up with a motive for the crime, and it was believed that one of the DJ’s enemies might have been involved in the shooting. His family insisted that a revenge killing couldn’t have been possible, because the DJ was too friendly and amiable of a person. Since police have closed in on the two young men, they have discarded previous theories, and believe that they have captured the persons responsible.

The DJ’s funeral was held in the International Christian Center on April 5th and colleagues of his in the music entertainment business were among the hundreds of guests who attended. It was an open casket ceremony and R&B Gospel music played in the background as family, friends, and fans paid their respects.

The DJ was on his way to a local store at the time of the shooting. Some reports have stated that the DJ had only a dollar in his wallet at the time of the incident.

In an ironic twist of events, some reports have stated that prior to his death DJ Megatron volunteered to take a stand against gun violence by pledging his support to an annual event. The event was also designed to support the local youth, something that the DJ was known for doing throughout his career and lifetime. Family members have stated that they are grateful for the amount of support they have received in the wake of the tragedy.

News: Long Island Animal Hoarding

(Long Island, N.Y.) A fifty-six-year-old Glen Clove woman was arrested Thursday for 103 counts of animal cruelty. The woman allegedly had a hundred cats, some of which were kittens, and three ferrets living in a home that was deplorable, uninhabitable, and inhumane. Her landlord was granted an eviction on Monday, and the woman was forced to vacate the home at noontime yesterday after having lived there for two years.

The crimes, a result of hoarding, are classified as a Class A Misdemeanor offense and she will be due in Glen Clove Court on April 19th. Her landlord was the first to notify Glen Clove’s Animal Lovers League because he hadn’t seen his tenant in several days. Though the initial concern was to inquire upon the welfare of her cats, it was soon realized that the animals needed to be rescued. The Animal Lovers League and Glen Clove City Marshall took the animals into protective custody where they will await adoption. Some of the cats will be available for adoption as early as this weekend.

On March 29th and 30th police officers came to the woman’s home after getting a request from the Nassau County District Attorney’s Animal Cruelty Unit and Animal Lovers League. They found that though some of the cats were missing hair around the ears, and one was missing an eye, the animals were fed and water was provided. In this prior incident, none of the animals seemed to be suffering from neglect or serious ailments.

Yesterday’s arrest came more from the home’s living conditions, and authorities found once again that the animals were not starved. One report stated that toxic air came from opening a window to the home, and was contaminated by large amounts of ammonia. Animal shelter volunteers had to enter the home wearing protective suits, respirators, boots, gloves, and goggles. They carried crates to help transport the animals to safety.

The woman in question could have received a year in prison for each cat involved, but it is unlikely that she will get jail time since none of the animals were harmed. Instead, officials handling the case are likely to ensure that the woman receive counseling in order to prevent future incidents from happening. The cats removed from her home had no fleas, and will get shots, spayed, neutered, and de-wormed before they are cleaned up and placed on adoption.

Roughly a year ago Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice equipped the Animal Cruelty Unit with a hotline. The hotline has been staffed with specially-trained prosecutors and investigators at all times and hours. Since its creation in February of last year, an estimated seven-hundred tips have been received, allowing the animal cruelty prosecution to increase by more than fourfold. Callers can be anonymous, and in previous times, just two animal cruelty cases per year were brought to the attention of authorities. With the help of the Animal Cruelty Unit and hotline, as many as sixteen cases a year are now prosecuted.

It should be understood that animal cruelty is sometimes an indicator of more serious crimes such as domestic violence, gang violence, and child neglect. About 61% of the hotline’s calls are for dogs and 26% for cats; the rest of the calls deal with birds and smaller or industrial animals. The Animal Cruelty Unit deals with other cases such as gang-run dog fighting rings and has even brought Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus under question for the treatment of nine elephants. The Animal Cruelty Unit is relentless in its pursuit against animal mistreatment, and urges the community to assist in their efforts to speak for the silent victims and abuse behind closed doors. Tax-deductible donations are being accepted by the Animal Lover’s League.