The body of the eight year old thorough bred, named “Heirloom Thief” was discovered on March 14th and reported to the Sheriff’s Office. The horse was reportedly so malnourished that it could not stand up, and died, in part, due to the cold temperatures.
The horse was discovered by the property owner’s daughter. The property was being rented out to Amanda M. Mills, age 28 and Steven D. Jernigan, age 40, both residing at the property located at 6823 North Centenary Road in the Town of Sodus.
The animal was removed with the help of volunteers from the Cracker Box Palace Farm Animal and Rescue in Alton. The horse was taken to a veterinarian for a necropsy, (an autopsy performed on an animal). The finding found some food was given to the animal, but not enough, or with a frequency, for it to survive.
District Attorney Chris Bokelman stated that, based on the known evidence, this fits the depraved behavior element of a felony charge for Mills, given that there was plenty of food being stored in the same barn as the horse, but the horse was denied access to it, and also denied water, a blanket, or proper bedding. Eventually the starvation and exposure ended up being too much for the horse to survive.
Within feet of the animal were 50+ bales of hay and bags of grain. “They could have given the animal food, but they chose not to,” said Wayne County Animal Abuse investigator Tom Littlefield.
On Tuesday (3/28) Amanda Mills was charged with Aggravated Cruelty to Animals, an E Felony.
Steven D. Jernigan, was charged with Overdriving, Torturing and Injuring Animals; Failure to Provide Proper Sustenance, an A Misdemeanor.
Both Mills and Jernigan have no prior known criminal history and were released with appearance tickets directing them to appear in Sodus Town Court on May 3rd at 10 a.m.
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