3 Charged In Massive Cat Hoarding Case In Connecticut: Police

WINSTED, CT — Police have charged three people and plan to arrest a fourth individual in what may be the most serious animal hoarding case in the state, Winchester Police Department Chief William Fitzgerald told Patch on Thursday.

The charges include 106 counts of cruelty to animals, police said. There were eight people living in the two bedroom rented house. Two were children, a 6-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy. The people arrested all lived in the house, Fitzgerald said. Hundreds of cats were suspected of residing inside the home, police have said.

Marissa O'Brien, 30, whose last known address was Moore Avenue in Winsted, was charged with 106 counts of cruelty to animals and two counts of risk of injury to a child. Laura Thomen, 53, of the same address, was charged with 106 counts of cruelty to animals and two counts of risk of injury to a child. James Thomen Sr., 61, also of the same last known address, was charged with 106 counts of cruelty to animals and two counts of risk of injury to a child.

After months of investigation where a number of Winchester police officers worked to build a case, the State's Attorney signed off on a warrant last week. O'Brien and the Thomen's were arrested and released on their own recognizance, Fitzgerald told Patch. They are due to be arraigned Nov. 1.

Another man will be arrested and charged as soon as the warrant is returned, Fitzgerald said.

Police contacted the state Department of Children and Families about the living conditions of the children and they were removed by DCF to other relatives, he said.

Fitzgerald said that while there were hundreds of cats in the house, investigators could prove that 106 belonged to the people charged. He said "extensive investigation" led to the arrests. And, he praised his officers and investigators, as well as the other agencies involved.

How it began

Hundreds of cats, most sick and many found inside walls, were rescued from a small two-bedroom rented Winsted home in the 100 block of Moore Avenue, officials have said. Two children were taken into state custody from the house where eight people lived and where officials said they found an exploded septic tank, and dangerously high levels of ammonia from cat urine. The house was condemned.

DEEP Emergency Incident Rep... by Ellyn Santiago

Four months after the case exploded following Patch's initial report, Fitzgerald said he's "relieved this is finally done" and hopes to see justice served.

On her Facebook page, O'Brien notes that she is a registered nurse working in Connecticut Children's hospital's emergency department. A call to the hospital's spokesperson Monica Buchanan, Director, Community & Media Relations, to confirm was not returned.

The investigation, rescue of almost 250 cats

Winchester Animal Control Officer Alicia Campbell, who works for the town's police department, was first alerted to the house the weekend of June 18 for a "call about a sick cat." It would be several days later that Winchester Town Manager Kelly would learn about the gravity of the situation, on Wednesday, June 22, around the same time Patch began investigating, officials said.

After visiting the home, officials say they found hundreds and hundreds of cats in various states of ill health. And, two young kids lived in the home filled with cat feces, and urine, so much so that the ammonia in the house tested at more than 60 PPM, officials said. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration and other related federal agencies note that anything above 25 PPM during an 8-hour workplace shift is toxic. Overexposure to ammonia targets the eyes, skin, and respiratory system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The house was shuttered, and the family inside was told to leave.

Then, over the course of several days, in a campaign that involved an army of volunteers, town workers and Animal Control Officers from across Connecticut, hundreds of cats were removed from the house. They were housed in a local school where, after nearly a week, the vast majority were adopted after being treated by area veterinarians.

When Patch asked Kelly how he'd describe the case, he said: "Crisis is the right word."

"This was totally avoidable," Kelly said. "They made choices."

And ultimately, the town has had to foot the bill for the hoarding crisis.

In late June, Kelly said that a number of town projects were stalled as workers, from public works to social services, had to pivot from their regular duties to help. Road paving had to be abandoned for a day as public works was needed to transport cats. Social services lost a full day and couldn't deal with regular issues including poverty and homelessness, Kelly said at the time, calling what happened a "tragedy."

"So many in this community and other communities made a Herculean effort to respond to the crisis," in Winsted as other town and community needs went "by the wayside."

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