More Animal Cruelty Charges Filed Against Enfield Woman

ENFIELD, CT — For the second time in 17 months, an Enfield woman was arrested Thursday on animal cruelty charges after numerous pets entrusted to her care were found dead or severely emaciated.

Jessica Rozalski, 33, was taken into custody at her home on Cottage Green on a warrant for cruelty to animals following an investigation that began in March concerning the neglect of nearly a dozen cats, as well as several reptiles and other critters, Police Chief Alaric Fox said.

Rozalski had originally taken custody of her parents' pets when they were arrested on narcotics charges and eventually sentenced to jail terms in late 2016. She was arrested in Feb. 2017 on a charge of cruelty to animals after a pair of cats were discovered to be considerably underweight, and a reptile known as a uromastyx died.

A report by Animal Control Officer Nicole Abalan indicates between April 2017 and January 2018, Rozalski was responsible for her parents' 11 cats, but she brought them to a friend's house on Spring Garden Road and kept them in a camper trailer there. In a written statement to police, the friend said Rozalski did not attend to the animals on many occasions, Fox said.

Two cats starved to death, and others were visibly emaciated with bones showing through skin. Inside the trailer were empty food dishes, some with maggots inside, and dry water bowls, as well as considerable trash and feces - "deplorable conditions for any animal to survive in," Abalan wrote.

Rozalski was released after posting a $1,000 surety bond, and is scheduled to appear in Enfield Superior Court July 17.

Photo courtesy of Enfield Police Department

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