SpringfieldNewsSun.com

Springfield, Ohio — A Springfield couple who had more than 70 dead cats in their Beatrice Street home were found guilty of animal cruelty on Monday, Nov. 24.

Clark County Municipal Court Judge Denise Moody found Loyce Ogden and Craig Hunt each guilty of five counts of cruelty to a companion animal. The couple pleaded no contest to the charges. Moody ordered a pre-sentence investigation with a Jan. 12 sentencing date.

On Sept. 11, Clark County officials found the couple and 124 cats in unsanitary conditions, including at least 71 animals dead in their home at 2425 Beatrice St.

Clark County Humane Society officials found dead cats wrapped in newspaper and sealed in garbage bags in the garage. Four of the dead cats were found under a bed and 67 in the garage. One dead kitten was found under a pillow.

"This is the first (case) I've been to where the people were actually sleeping with dead carcasses," said Ed Sisler, Clark County humane society director. After the live cats were removed, Sisler was left with the task of going through 39 garbage bags retrieving nearly 70 cats in various stages of decomposition.

"It's an experience I will long remember and care never to repeat," he said.

The maximum sentence the couple could receive is 90 days in jail and $750 fine for each count, Moody said of the second-degree misdemeanor charges.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0347 or kmori@coxohio.com.