Penns Valley woman charged with cruelty to animals, accused of neglecting nearly 20 horses
A Penns Valley woman was accused Friday of neglecting nearly 20 horses, including two that state police at Rockview said were confined in a stall for more than a year and had to be euthanized.
Gail M. Torsell, 79, could not recall the last time any of the horses at her Potter Township home received care from a veterinarian or farrier, police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
One mare was dead in the pasture, 14 horses were found in an “unsanitary” area with no clean water or feed and four others were in a barn, police wrote.
Three of the horses confined to the barn had hair that was matted in manure and they stood in more than two feet of “packed manure and urine,” police wrote. Their hooves, an investigator wrote, were “extremely neglected.”
Torsell surrendered five horses. Two were euthanized and another “may not recover,” police wrote. All but five of the remaining horses were sold or boarded, police wrote.
A defense lawyer was not listed.
Torsell was charged with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, three misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and 18 summary counts of neglect of animals.
She was arraigned Friday by District Judge Gregory Koehle. She was released on $50,000 unsecured bail. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 15.
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 2:47 PM.