On March 20, 2023, Randolph County Humane Officer Ron Gooden contacted Deputy Knotts and Cpl. Kyle with the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, about an animal cruelty complaint at a residence in Valley Head.
Officer Gooden advised them that when he and former animal control officer Jim Cain went to the residence, they noticed that the home had no electricity, all windows and doors were closed, and there was an overwhelming odor of urine.
According to a news release by the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, Gooden and Cain further noticed “numerous cats and kittens ‘too many to count’ through the window on the porch.”
Officer Gooden said he saw cat food scattered throughout the floor which was mixed in with the urine and feces on the floor. While at the property, Officer Gooden also heard several dogs barking from inside the residence, and through a window, he saw a number of dogs “standing in feces that had been there so long it was white in color.”
Officers learned from the Randolph County Assessor's Office that the property is owned by 50-years-old DONNA MARIE THOMPSON (pictured) and her sister.
While officials were executing a search warrant, deputies could hear barking from a neighboring property. When they looked inside through a window, they realized that the property was in the same condition as the first one. It turned out that the second home is also owned by THOMPSON and her sister, so a search warrant was obtained for the second property.
The sheriff’s office said both residences were in “deplorable, unlivable condition.”
In both properties were foot-height feces and urine. “The conditions were so severe, hazmat suits and respirators were required to even enter the threshold of both houses,” stated the release.
In one of the two houses, officers found twenty-six cats and eight dogs.
Sadly, officers also discovered twelve deceased cats whose carcasses were in all stages of decomposition with some down to skeletons.
Most of the cats were found inside the sunporch. As stated in the release, “Inside this room, officers had discovered different sections where the cats had attempted to escape, but were rigged shut by bungie cords on the outside, and were blocked by big boxes.”
In the other residence, officers found two dogs locked in the sunporch area. “The door had multiple obstructions there were placed intentionally to keep the dogs from escaping,” said the sheriff’s office. The press release went on to say: “It appeared that the dogs were being thrown food through the back window of the residence. In one section of the house, a large pile of approximately ten deceased cats was located. They were all stacked on top of each other. In the back bedroom, a mother cat with several newly born kittens was found deceased on top of a shelf. Throughout this residence, multiple piles of deceased cats were found in various locations.”
In this property, officials found fourteen cats, three dogs, and sadly, a total of twenty-nine deceased cats.
The sheriff’s office explained that all of the live animals removed from both properties, were “extremely sick” and in “desperate need of medical attention.”
The Randolph County Humane Society assisted the Randolph County Sheriff's Office with this case and is now asking for donations in view of the major intake of furbabies.
If you wish and can afford to help out, please click here. Thank you!
The sheriff’s office said that THOMPSON was charged with ninety-two (92) counts of animal cruelty.
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THOMPSON’s mugshot provided to Voice For Us by the Randolph County Sheriff's Office.
