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 PAINESVILLE, OHIO---The mother of three children and two step-children has been sentenced to spend a night alone in the woods for abandoning 40 kittens in two parks.
Michelle Murray, 25, pleaded guilty last month to a second degree misdemeanor of abandoning animals in September. Investigators traced the kittens, some as young as four weeks, back to her by their identification collars.
Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael Cicconetti imposed the unusual sentence so that Murray can experience what it feels like to be abandoned and alone outdoors. He told her he wanted her to "listen to the coyotes, hear the raccoons in the dark of night". Nine of the kittens reportedly died or had to be euthanized because they couldn't be saved. Fifteen of the rescued kittens have been adopted, 12 remain at the shelter.
She claimed that a stranger had left three cages of kittens on her doorstep and that the Lake County Humane Society had refused to help her, a claim the humane society disputes.
She said she left the kittens in the woods because she thought it would force the humane society to take action.
She has been ordered to surrender to the Lake Metro Park Ranger Department and escorted to a Metro Park of their choice at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23. The order says that she is to be "escorted to a remote location in the park and remain there until the light of dawn on Thanksgiving Day". She is not permitted to carry any food or beverages other than water and not provided any shelter. The park rangers will provide her with a walkie-talkie for emergency communication only. The weather forecast calls for a low of 23 degrees with a chance of snow.
Cicconetti has also sentenced Murray to 90 days in jail but has suspended 60 days. After spending her night in the woods, she will be escorted to the Lake County Jail to serve 14 days to be followed by 15 days of house arrest and three years of probation. She could have opted to serve 90 days in jail without the night in the woods but said that she couldn't afford to do that.
She must also make restitution to the Lake County Humane Society in the amount of $3,200 and to the Lake Metro Parks in the amount of $500. She is forbidden from caring for, harboring or owning any animals and is ordered to pay the costs of all proceedings. 11-20-05
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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