Kane Co. Residents Shot, Ate Goats, Burned Carcasses: Authorities

KANE COUNTY, IL - After years of complaints, neighbors living next to a home on Willow Creek Drive near Elburn could soon be granted their wish. A farmhouse, owned by Michael Kowalczyk, is situated in a neighborhood full of upscale estates. The property is home to several farm animals, including chickens, geese and ducks, the Daily Herald reports.

"They have livestock that creates excessive amounts of odor, vermin and flies," Robert Raimondi, a neighbor of Kowalczyk, told the Daily Herald. "It is the eyesore of the neighborhood. Their property is a smelly, noisy, unkempt mess."

Over the years, the Kowalczyks have retaliated to their neighbor's distaste for their farm by painting their fence, which faces the home of their neighbors, in a striped pattern. They have also blared That Smell by Lynryd Skynryd after complaints were made about the smell of their animals, the Daily Herald reports.

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But a recent move by the Kowalczyks seems to have crossed a line for county officials when police were called after the sound of gunshots was reported at the home, according to the article. Kowalczyk told authorities he shot the goats to eat them and burned their carcasses for days in his backyard.

When Kowalczyk recently approached the county seeking an amendment to a development agreement to keep his remaining animals on his property, the board's development committee voted against allowing livestock or fowl in the neighborhood, according to the Daily Herald. The measure will now move to the full county board for a vote.

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Photo caption: Entrance to Willow Creek Drive subdivision/Photo via GoogleMaps