Women Released To Await Trial In Brick Animal Hoarding Case

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Two women accused of keeping more than 180 animals and a 16-year-old child in uninhabitable conditions in a Brick Township home were ordered released Thursday to await further court action.

Aimee J. Lonczak, 49, and Michele Nycz, 58, of Brick, must adhere to several conditions of their release, including weekly check-ins with the court, no contact with Lonczak's daughter and no interaction with animals, Superior Court Judge Wendel E. Daniels said during the detention hearings for the two women at the Ocean County courthouse.

They are not permitted to return to the house — which has been condemned by Brick Township code enforcement — and both women also must undergo psychiatric evaluations within the next 10 days, Daniels said.

Lonczak and Nycz, who were arrested Friday night at the home Nycz owns on Arrowhead Park Drive, appeared by videoconference from the Ocean County Jail and their faces were barely visible during the hearing.

Lonczak is charged with one count of fourth-degree animal cruelty and one count of second-degree child endangerment, while Nycz is charged with one count of third-degree animal cruelty and one count of second-degree child endangerment. But Assistant Prosecutor Alexander Becker said additional charges are pending and authorities anticipate seeking search warrants for several locations as part of the ongoing investigation.

Becker read additional details from the police report and probable cause affidavit that had not been released previously as he argued for the two women to be held in jail.

When Brick Patrolman Scott Smith, the township's humane law enforcement officer, went to investigate an anonymous call about dogs in the house, Becker said, Lonczak gave several excuses to deter Smith from going into the house.

First she told Smith she only had 10 dogs. Then she told him he couldn't go inside because she had "a vicious pit bull" who had just recently bitten someone. When Smith asked her to put the pitbull outside in the fenced yard, Lonczak then told him it was a bad time because "her daughter has developmental disabilities" and asked if Smith and Patrolman Brennan Lanni could come back another day, Becker said. When Smith said he would get a warrant to search the home to ensure the dog were OK, Lonczak first told him to go ahead, get one, then when Smith asked her again how many dogs she had, said "an f-g a lot," Becker said.

"She had so many animals she didn't know how many she had," Becker said.

Brick police also had learned that Lonczak's daughter, meanwhile, had suffered bullying at school "because she reeked of urine and feces," Becker said. "Her own daughter was living in filth and squalor."

Lonczak "has no respect for the lives of the animals, no respect for the life of her daughter," Becker said.

"If sentenced to the maximum, she could be facing 290 years in prison," Becker said of Lonczak. He shared a similar maximum for Nycz, who he said should have reported the conditions of the home because the daughter was living with them.

"Any person with common decency and common sense knowing a child is living in this kind of filth would have called the police," Becker said of Nycz.

Glenn Kassman, a public defender representing Lonczak, said it was clear she "certainly has mental health issues," based on her conduct at the scene and the status of the house. He said that doesn't make the horror of the treatment of the animals excusable, but said he does not believe she is a danger to the public. "She's arguably a danger to herself," he said.

Andrew Hannwacker, the public defender representing Nycz, said that while the argument could be made that morally Nycz should have reported the danger to Lonczak's daughter, "there is no duty under the law to report" a child endangerment situation.

Lonczak peered through an opening to hear the proceedings, answering Daniels' questions with a simple "yes sir" except where she was asked for information. Only Nycz's forehead and the top of her head could be seen during her portion of the hearing.

Lonczak is charged with one count of fourth-degree animal cruelty and one count of second-degree child endangerment, while Nycz is charged with one count of third-degree animal cruelty and one count of second-degree child endangerment.

Daniels rejected the arguments for detaining the women until trial, saying pretrial detention "isn't about punishment" but is strictly about ensuring defendants will show up for court hearings.

Responsibility for the animals has been transferred to the Ocean County Health Department animal shelters, which are beginning the process needed to allow adoptions. Read more: Animals From Brick Hoarding Turned Over To Ocean County

Full coverage:

• Brick Animal Hoarding Case: Questions And Answers
• 180 Dogs, Cats Removed From Brick Home, 2 Arrested: Police
• Dogs, Cats From Brick 'Puppy Mill' Under Ocean County's Care
• How Rescue Founder Hid Brick Animal Hoarding: Fosters, Adopters Speak
• 'Desperate Need': Manahawkin Animal Shelter Asks For Coats, Cash
• 'Nightmare': Popcorn Park Officer Shares Hoarder House Experience
• Hundreds Of Pets In Need Following Brick Hoarder Rescue: How To Help

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