NEW SHARON – State officials removed roughly a dozen animals from a local woman’s home Wednesday, after successfully applying for a search warrant from the Franklin County Superior Court.
A justice signed a warrant filed by the District Attorney’s Office, according to Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins, allowing Animal Welfare Department and law enforcement personnel to enter the home of Carol Murphy, of 248 Lane Road in New Sharon, and search for animals. Dogs, a pot-bellied pig, chinchillas, a rabbit and a cat were taken from the home of Murphy, who is prohibited by court order from possessing animals.
The DA’s Office had received pictures, video and reports submitted by neighbors and a television news station that indicated that Murphy was in possession of one or more dogs.
Murphy was first barred from possessing animals in 2005, after she was convicted of animal cruelty due to the poor condition of more than 50 pets. More serious convictions followed in March 2010, due to a 2009 incident in which Murphy used a taser on a Maine State Trooper serving a warrant for unpaid fines.
Following her arrest in 2009, state police contacted Maine Department of Agriculture’s Animal Welfare Program which removed more than 40 animals, ranging from dogs and cats to birds to a miniature donkey and pot-bellied pig. Several farm animals, such as ducks, chickens and alpacas, were also found on the property.
During the trial, Murphy exhibited sometimes bizarre behavior, informing the jury they had no jurisdiction to convict her due to federal lawsuits she had filed in Boston and often clashing with the presiding judge. This culminated in Murphy refusing to attend roughly half of the trial, with the jury handing down convictions of felony assault on an officer as well as refusing to submit to arrest or detention, criminal use of an electronic weapon, and two counts of cruelty to animals, all misdemeanors, to an empty defendant’s chair.
Presiding Justice Michaela Murphy, no relation, sentenced Carol Murphy to four years in prison, issued another order forbidding the possession or ownership of animals for life and held the New Sharon woman in contempt for statements made during the trial.
According to a letter written by Robbins on Aug. 7, the DA’s Office was recently contacted by Animal Control Officer Wayne Atwood, who provided a picture taken by a neighbor of Murphy that purportedly showed her walking down the street carrying a small kennel with an animal inside.
Additionally, Fox News 7 media aired a report after attempting to interview Murphy on Aug. 5. In the interview, dogs can allegedly be heard barking inside Murphy’s home. Fox News 7 spoke with another neighbor that complained of Murphy’s dogs running lose on his property.
Wednesday, officials removed four dogs, a cat, a pig, a rabbit and chinchillas from the home, according to Robbins. Two other cats escaped during the search and could not be captured. Animals taken from the home are currently at Franklin County Animal Shelter. According to Robbins, the ownership of those animals will be one of the first things the state wants to settle.
Murphy was issued a summons for contempt of court, relating to her alleged violation of the court order prohibiting ownership of animals. Her next scheduled court date is Oct. 8.
Can we just lock her up and throw away the key? What part of NO is not being understood? If she desperately needs the comfort of animals, why not volunteer at a shelter or something where she can be supervised?
A deep gratitude to all who worked with us saving the animals
I guess Ms,Murphy does not understand or does not want to understand what she was court ordered to do have no animals.She needs to be put in a safe place where she cannot get out and have any animals.
The next step is to remove HER from her home and house her in the state prison.
FINALLY!!! Thank you Mr. Atwood, everyone at the DA’s office, and the concerned neighbors!
The animals who can’t speak for themselves thank you too….
Maine Animal Welfare Control, State Police, and District Attorney, and neighbor across street worked for 16 months, every agency and offcial had been contacted, it wasn’t till Craig Colson stepped up and put it in the news to get the momentum going. Thanks Wayne for delivering the picture
Wow, biased much? I guess I know where the Daily Bulldog stands on this issue, denying my comment and allowing all the others. Journalism!
Sad state of the world we are in……. The officials come and take animals away….. But…. we now feed children in school because they are not fed at home….. Why don’t we go and take the kids away and put them in a shelter…. I look at them as more important than animals…..
Well Stan, maybe if you had been working with the officials and watching what was going on, and took a stand for defenseless abused animals, that have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, that’s the problem everyone wants to look the other way, it’s been proven for over a decade that she has been doing this here, they have removed over a 100 animals thru the years, before here in California but when people don’t do something you still complain, she hoards these animals to help control the pet population and not by neutering them either, and who keeps a donkey in their kitchen? I apologize for liking animals more than most people.
Depends on the kid. This article however,is about animals
Why waste more state money to house her in state prison. Maybe it’s time the state make a animal offenders list for people to peruse prior to surrending any animal to this women. Some people just don’t get it.
That is an excellent idea – an animal abuser registry! This way shelters,sellers etc could be forewarned. Maybe Sen Saviello could propose it.
Congrats to all who didn’t give up
People have to realize when Carol Murphy continues violating a court order ban of owning any animals, the taxpayers in the State of Maine pay the bills again and again for her neglect of these animals. It’s unfortunate the State of Maine has been reluctant to pass more stringent animal legislation to prevent recidivism of offenders like Carol Murphy.
I think someone needs to look at the reason WHY this women continues to do this………Has she been evaluated to see if there is an underlying mental issue……I agree that she should not have animals but she continues to do so…WHY????? Is the question that needs to be answered her.
@Glen: The issue discussed online in the Daily Bulldog is animal neglect and abuse, not child neglect or abuse.. Carol Murphy happens to be a woman, who has gained negative notoriety for her violent actions toward law enforcement officials and others, consequently, being imprisoned for her past violent behavior directly relating to her animal hoarding. Don’t forget, there is a public health issue resulting from Carol Murphy’s animal hoarding too.
The author, Ben Hanstein, states only facts of animal neglect and abuse relating to Carol Murphy. His writing doesn’t reflect any bias since it contains only true information in this case, not innuendos. It’s a well-written article, which merits a reader’s serious consideration of the far-reaching effects of animal hoarding relating to societal as well as financial impact upon the community where it occurs.
Will you propose it,Lance?
Thank you Glen. I agree with you 100%.