Lucienne Touboul - Arizona

May 24, 2012:  Wittmann woman in 2010 animal hoarding case arrested; more cats found

by Jane Lednovich 

An 81-year-old Wittmann woman again faces trouble for animal hoarding.

Lucienne Touboul was arrested Wednesday morning on suspicion of 26 counts of animal neglect and cruelty after it was discovered she was hoarding 64 cats, a Maricopa Country Sheriff's Office spokesman said.

The arrest comes nearly two years after authorities found Touboul with more than 104 cats in her home. Most of those cats had to be euthanized as authorities said they carried a feline virus.

Three years before that, a judge had ordered Touboul to give up all but a handful of cats.

This go-around, deputies searched Touboul's home on the 21800 block of Griffin Avenue and found 64 cats, Sgt. Brandon Jones said.

The cats were evaluated by a veterinarian and are being transferred to the Sheriff's Office Animal Safe House in the old First Avenue Jail, police said.

Deputies went to the home about 6 a.m. because Touboul had an outstanding warrant related to the incident two years ago.

In the 2010 case, the cats showed signs of severe respiratory disease, were severely underweight, and had ruptured eyes due to ulcers, Jones said. Nine dead cats were found in freezers. There was evidence that some of the cats were used for human consumption, he said.

Jones said Touboul admitted to police at the time that she would use the dead cats to make soup.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio issued a statement Wednesday saying that during his 50 years in law enforcement, he has never seen or heard anything so bizarre or disgraceful as eating cats.

Touboul in 2010 had told The Republic that she froze the deceased cats until a friend visited to help her properly bury them.

After the 2010 case, the Sheriff's Office notified Code Enforcement, Maricopa County Environmental Services, and Adult Protective Services, but Touboul refused help.

Jones said Touboul fits the profile of an animal hoarder.

Gary Patronek, who founded a research consortium in Boston to study animal hoarders, previously told The Republic that hoarding can be a coping mechanism..."  More & video

July 14, 2010:  Animal Hoarding: Ariz. Woman Found Living With 104 Cat

An 80-year-old Arizona woman has been found living with 104 mostly dead or dying cats.

Maricopa County sheriff's officials say the bodies of 10 cats were found in the freezer and other cats were found diseased or dying inside Lucienne Touboul's home in Wittman, about 30 miles northwest of Phoenix.

Sheriff's spokesman Jeff Sprong says Touboul was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation because the cats had a disease that can be passed to humans.

He says Touboul also will undergo a mental evaluation and could face charges for felony animal cruelty and threatening to kill deputies if they touched the cats..." More

Deputies Investigate Animal Hoarding Case (video)

PSPCA: hoarding case worst it has seen

Katherine Scott

The PSPCA seized a collection of animals in one of the worst cases of hoarding officials have ever seen.

The place was full of feces, urine, parasites, and a whole lot of animals, dead and alive, according to authorities.

As Licenses and Inspections condemned the Olney home as unfit for human habitation the Pennsylvania SPCA spent over six hours removing animals.

This is one of the worst houses I've been in when you take into account the dead cats. It's ridiculous," said George Bengal of the PSPCA.

Fifty dead animals, investigators say including cats, dogs, a pelican and even a fox retrieved from the basement freezer. As for live animals authorities carted out approximately 56 cats, 20 chinchillas, seven dogs, and 18 pigeons inside and around the backyard.

"The dogs apparently didn't like the pigeons in the yard they would chew them, capture them, and she would put them in a cage."

Homeowner Olga Fedorov invited only Action News inside, explaining that the home is under construction, arguing that her pets are her top priority..." More & video

Kenneth Lang Jr., Dearborn, Michigan - 150 Living & Dead Chihuahuas

Apr 15, 2010: Dearborn Dog House Being Demolished

AMY LANGE

It was a stunning scene, hundreds of dogs both alive and dead found inside a Dearborn home last summer. The smell from the house tipped off police to the nightmare inside -- 150 dead chihuahuas stored in freezers and over 100 alive, but in need of help. Now, this house of horrors is being destroyed.

Demolition on the Dearborn dog house started early Thursday morning. The good news is that all the chihuahuas that were rescued are healthy and living in loving homes.

Little chihuahuas were frightened, living in filth and eating their own feces. Authorities in full Hazmat suits rounded them up and herded them to safety. 105 of them ended up at the Dearborn animal shelter..." More & video

Jan 12, 2009: Dearborn dog hoarder pleads guilty

By: Steve Pardo

The Dearborn man found with hundreds of live and dead Chihuahuas in his home last summer will avoid jail and instead serve five years' probation while being supervised by Wayne County mental health personnel.

Kenneth Lang, 56, pleaded guilty today to an animal cruelty charge this morning in front of Wayne County Circuit Judge James Chylinski. Lang's attorney, James Schmier, had been working with prosecutors for weeks on an agreement that would keep Lang from being incarcerated. He faced up to four years in prison on animal cruelty charges.

Lang is not allowed to own animals and must make a $3,000 restitution to the Animal Legal Defense Fund. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the city of Dearborn, although that amount hasn't been set..." More

Dec 25, 2009: Arraignment of man in Chihuahua hoarding case adjourned to Jan. 12

By Sean Delaney

DEARBORN -- The arraignment of former Dearborn resident Kenneth Lang Jr. was adjourned Friday in Wayne County Circuit Court until Jan. 12.

Lang, 56, is accused of keeping more than 250 animals inside his former home on Orchard Street.

Authorities discovered in July that Lang was hoarding the dogs, mostly Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes. They say some of the dead dogs found in freezers in the home may have been killed with an injection to the heart or partially eaten by other dogs.

Lang was evaluated for mental competency and criminal responsibility during an Oct. 5 hearing at the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry. He was found competent, his attorney, James Schmier, said.

The Dearborn resident is charged with two counts of cruelty to 10 or more animals — one count related to the living dogs and the second for the dead dogs. He waived his right to a preliminary examination earlier this month in 19th District Court...." More

Dec 3, 2009: Rescued Dearborn Chihuahuas bring holiday cheer

Dearborn -- Two of about 100 Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes taken in by a Detroit-area animal shelter this summer following a hoarding case are getting some big exposure this holiday season.

The dogs, named Poco and Amigo, appear on the front of greeting cards being sold by the group Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter. Another set of cards being sold to help the shelter features a black cat.

Cards are being sold online for $10 for a package of 10, plus shipping. They're also for sale at the Dearborn Animal Shelter..." More

Dec 1, 2009: Chihuahua hoarder back in court Friday

By Sean Delaney

DEARBORN — Kenneth Lang Jr. will return to court Friday to face to two counts of animal cruelty after undergoing a court-ordered mental competency evaluation in October.

The evaluation was ordered Sept. 11 by 19th District Judge William Hultgren after authorities found more than 100 live dogs and 150 dead ones inside Lang’s Orchard Street home.

Authorities discovered in July that Lang was hoarding the dogs, mostly Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes. They say some of the dead dogs found in freezers in the home may have been killed with an injection to the heart or partially eaten by other dogs..." More

Sept 3, 2009: Canine “CSI” Crucial in Charging Chihuahua Hoarder

Animal Legal Defense Fund Grant Allows for Necropsies of Chihuahuas Found in Michigan Man’s Freezer

Dearborn, Mich.– Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced today that Dearborn dog hoarder Kenneth Lang Jr is being charged with two counts of cruelty to 10 or more animals, after more than 100 live and approximately 150 dead Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes were removed from the filthy home this past July. The national non-profit Animal Legal Defense Fund provided a grant of $3500 to allow the Dearborn Police Department to conduct necropsies on 10 of the Chihuahuas whose bodies were removed from freezers on 56-year-old Lang’s property. ALDF offers grants for necropsies, DNA testing, and other forensic support nationwide to ensure that local law enforcement is able to collect the necessary evidence to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in cases of criminal animal abuse.

Once relegated only to primetime dramas, sophisticated forensic techniques are increasingly being used to help prosecutors put together airtight cases against animal abusers. However, because such tests can be prohibitively expensive, abusers often walk free—even when the appearance of guilt seems obvious. Meanwhile, former prosecutors who now staff ALDF’s Criminal Justice Program train law enforcement around the country in animal abuse crime scene investigation, the use of cell phone data and fingerprint analysis in abuse cases, and in handling costly hoarding cases like the Lang case. In addition to the horrific animal cruelty involved, hoarding creates such highly unsanitary conditions that the properties of hoarders, contaminated with fecal matter and urine, are often condemned. In this case, Dearborn paid more than $37,000 to clean up Lang’s home, which has been deemed unfit for human habitation and might be demolished.

“Establishing cause of death is key in any fatal animal cruelty case,” says Scott Heiser, director of ALDF’s Criminal Justice Program. “We are more than happy to help the Dearborn Police Department with this critical part of their casework, as they seek justice for the hundreds of Chihuahuas who suffered so much—and the suffering of dogs who die of starvation and untreated disease in hoarding cases is truly horrific. By providing direct funding for forensic investigation of crimes against animals, we hope to ensure that attorneys have the evidence they need to put abusers in jail—while the surviving victims are allowed to heal from their trauma.”

ALDF was founded in 1979 with the unique mission of protecting the lives and advancing interests of animals through the legal system. For more information, please visit www.aldf.org..." More

Sept 11, 2009: Chihuahua hoarder to have mental exam

BY MATT HELMS

A judge this morning granted a mental competency evaluation for a man charged with hoarding Chihuahuas in a Dearborn home.

During a hearing this morning, Dearborn's 19th Circuit Court Judge William Hultgren allowed a psychiatric evaluation for Kenneth Lang Jr., 56.

Lang had lived in a filthy home on Orchard in Dearborn until authorities searched the house in July and found hundreds of live and dead Chihuahuas. Prosecutors said some appeared to have died from injections to their hearts and others were cannibalized.

Lang remains free on $25,000 bond on the condition he have no contact with animals. He remained silent in court today and tried to shield himself from media cameras during the proceedings.

His lawyer, James Schmier of Birmingham, said Lang has a long history of mental illness and suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and is bothered by the attention the case has attracted..." More

Sept 4, 2009: More details emerge in case of Dearborn man who hoarded hundreds of living, dead dogs

by Jonathan Oosting

Kenneth Lang Jr. faces two charges of animal cruelty after police in July found more than 100 living chihuahuas and 150 dead dogs in his Dearborn home.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the charges yesterday, providing additional details of the shocking conditions:

• Some dogs were kept in tupperware-type containers without food or water.

• Some of the dead dogs appeared to have been euthanized via an injection to the heart

• Many of the living dogs were emaciated from poor nutrition

• The last known veterinary check for any of the dogs was 2003

Despite the alleged conditions, attorney James Schmier told Fox 2 his client cared deeply for the dogs..." More

August 27, 2009: Video & photo's

By: David Runk; Photo: Paul Sancya

DEARBORN, Mich. — Police on Friday found about 150 dead dogs packed in freezers in the basement of a Michigan house littered with feces and trash where more than 110 live dogs, mostly Chihuahuas, were rescued this week.

Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad said the 56-year-old man found Wednesday in the suburban Detroit home with the animals may have been living with an increasing number of dogs for up to three or four years.

"The house was in complete disarray, very cluttered and, with 100-plus dogs running around in there, very filthy," he said.

A criminal investigation was under way at the two-story brick home, Haddad said. He said the case could be forwarded to prosecutors for possible animal-cruelty charges.

Haddad said 112 live dogs had been removed from the home as of Friday, and police believe about five more may be hiding inside. He declined to release details about the breed of the dead dogs.

The man living in the house was taken to a local hospital for observation. He had no health insurance and a mental impairment that stemmed from rubella as a child, and had lived for years alone in the home after his parents retired to Florida..." More

More than 100 dogs removed from house

By: Tanveer Ali

Dearborn -- City officials say an unassuming home appears destined for demolition as they continue a rescue operation that has saved more than 100 Chihuahuas living among waste and squalor.

Nick Siroskey, director of the city's residential services, says it could take up to six months to take down the house on the 7800 block of Orchard, saying the condition authorities found it in was uninhabitable.

"There's trash from the floor to the ceiling," Siroskey said of the home where feces and urine were found throughout. "Based on the fact that the house is in the condition it is, it will probably be a required demolition."

Animal control and shelter workers began clearing the home Wednesday, less than a week after animal control officers were called to the home to address a stench permeating the area.

Kenneth Lang Jr., 56, who lives in the home, gave officials consent to enter the home on Wednesday. Forty-two "ailing and feces-covered" dogs were recovered. Authorities returned Thursday with a search warrant and donned hazmat suits to empty the home of trash so they could locate other dogs. By Thursday afternoon, 103 dogs had been found. Authorities are expected to continue searching today..." More

Virginia Wetzel - Philiadelphia

Mar 26, 2010: Woman who hoarded pets goes to jail

By Joseph A. Slobodzian

The city seized and sealed her Port Richmond house, removed 21 dogs and cats she said she had rescued from the streets, and hauled out trash piled six to eight feet high.

Yesterday, after insisting she did nothing wrong and then refusing to divulge her new address, 70-year-old convicted "animal hoarder" Virginia Wetzel was off to jail for six to 12 months.

"I've never hurt any animal in my life," Wetzel, a state welfare caseworker, told Municipal Judge Karen Yvette Simmons. "I have never intentionally even killed a roach."

But Simmons cited evidence from the nonjury trial in which she convicted Wetzel of 25 counts of animal cruelty: 12 flea-ridden cats, 9 dogs, and 4 decomposing, mostly skeletal, cats found Sept. 30 in Wetzel's malodorous, trash-filled Monmouth Street house..." More

Mar 26, 2010: Woman who had score of dogs, some dead, is jailed

By MENSAH M. DEAN

The "Dog Lady" got bit by Lady Justice yesterday.

Virginia Wetzel, who last month was convicted of 25 counts of cruelty to animals for hoarding 21 live and four dead pets in her squalid Port Richmond home, was sentenced to six to 12 months in jail.

Wetzel, 70, formerly of Monmouth Street near Belgrade, must report to jail in 30 days, but was briefly held on contempt charges after refusing to provide her current address to Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Karen Y. Simmons.

The judge also ordered Wetzel to serve probation for four years and pay $32,300 in restitution to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

She also can't have pets for 15 years, Simmons ordered.

Wetzel, a widow with no children, earned her nickname from weary neighbors who complained about animal odors wafting from her home. She told the judge that she never harmed any of the animals.

Evidence from her case paints a different picture. PSPCA officers entered her two-story home on Sept. 30 after receiving a tip on the agency's hot line.

In addition to finding a filthy brood of 12 cats and nine dogs, the officers discovered the skeletal remains of four other animals, two of them under Wetzel's bed.

It took the officers two hours to clear a path through ceiling-high debris to reach the animals...." More

Oct,1, 2010: 21 animals -- some dead, others alive -- rescued from filthy Port Richmond home

By DAVID CHANG

For Port Richmond residents, it was the smell that hit them first.

“It smelled like something was dead, that’s how I could describe it. About last week it smelled like something died and I couldn’t figure out what that smell was,” said Joseph Lisacchi.

The disgusting odor came from the home of 70-year old Virginia Wetzel. After complaints from various neighbors, the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) received a search warrant to enter the woman's home Wednesday.

The house was covered in trash and feces and there was no running water or bathrooms, according to officials. Yet the most shocking discovery of all was the 21 animals that resided there. Nine were dogs, 12 were cats, and four were dead.

“It took us two hours to clear a path to get to the animals,” said SPCA official George Bengal. “One of the upstairs middle bedrooms housed about five cats and to walk in the room, the feces was over a foot deep in that bedroom.”

Wetzel was charged with animal cruelty back in 2004 for placing kennels outside of her house. She was also wanted on a bench warrant for not appearing in court. Investigators say that instead of getting rid of the kennels, Wetzel moved the animals back inside..." More

20 Animals Seized From Filthy Home Pictures & video

Vegreville-area farmer earns fine for starved, dead animals

A Vegreville-area farmer whose animals were seized after 17 cattle were found starved to death on his property was fined $2,000 in an Edmonton court today.

Kelly Burkart, 37, pleaded guilty in provincial court to one count under the Animal Protection Act of causing an animal to be in distress. In exchange for the guilty plea, other similar charges were withdrawn..." More

Burkart, who still has some livestock on his farm, was not banned from owning animals, however he was slapped with a 10-year prohibition order allowing Alberta SPCA inspectors to enter his property without notice to do inspections. He must also abide by any recommendations.

Crown prosecutor Moira Vane told court ASPCA inspectors had gone to Burkart's farm north of Vegreville on May 6 and May 7, 2008, and observed "emaciated" animals from the road and saw two dead cattle, a "very skinny" mule and about 40 more cattle in very poor condition.