HARWICH, Mass. — A Harwich woman is facing over a dozen counts of animal cruelty charges after stabbing and killing sheep that were kept in “deplorable” conditions on her property, according to police.
Harwich police responded to Meredith Virpino’s Chatham Road home Tuesday after receiving a report of neglected sheep and dead animals on her property.
When an animal control officer and detective told Virpino the reason for the visit, the woman allegedly told the two officials that she had killed the sheep earlier that morning by stabbing them in the throat.
The officers went to the barn and found two sheep that had died from stab wounds in their throats. A third sheep had also been stabbed in the throat but was still alive, Harwich police say. The suffering goat was eventually euthanized by a veterinarian.
In addition to the sheep, the bodies of 12 more dead animals were found on the property.
“The conditions in the barn were deplorable and there was a lack of food and water,” Harwich police stated.
Virpino was arraigned in Orleans District Court Wednesday morning on 15 counts of cruelty to an animal. She was released on $500 cash bail.
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