SUFFOLK, Va. — Two people have been charged in connection with a Suffolk investigation involving over 20 neglected horses and six dead horses discovered on a property in January, according to Suffolk Police.
Police announced the charges Aug. 1, the same day police say the two were arrested.
Watch: 6 dead horses, 22 others suspected of neglect found at Suffolk property
Janet G. Aston, 72, and William L. Shelton, 81, were charged in July with 96 counts each for five charges. Those charges are cruelty to animals, leaving a dead animal in public view, inadequate care of an agricultural animal, depriving an animal of food, etc., and overriding an ill-treated animal.
Aston's and Shelton's arrests come after an investigation in which officers found six dead horses and 22 others suspected of neglect on a property on Buckhorn Drive, police said. The deceased horses were at various stages of decay.
The dead horses were taken to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for necropsies. The 22 horses were impounded and relocated.
Related coverage: Crews in Suffolk rescue horse stuck in ditch
“As soon as I heard the news about the indictments, I thought it was a huge success for horse advocates across the country," said horse owner Lisa Molloy.
Molloy runs an organization in New York that helps rehab horses. She also used to have horses in Suffolk and said she is one of many people who had tried to get help for the horses Aston and Shelton are accused of abusing and neglecting.
“I hope they face the most severe of penalties for all the horses that had to endure years of starvation and neglect," Molloy said.
News 3 talked with Molloy back in January when we first learned about the investigation into the horses on a property on Buckhorn Drive.
Watch: Community outcry: Suffolk police investigate horse deaths and potential neglect
In video we were able to get of the property, at least one horse could be seen with their ribs showing.
As News 3 has reported, multiple search warrants have been filed in this case but had been sealed, which means we don’t know what they say.
After what she says was over a decade of trying to help the horses with no success until now, Molloy has this advice for anyone else trying to help horses.
Watch: Mother, daughter found guilty of animal cruelty in Skyward Pines horses case
“It really is a case of see something, say something, and I think you have to exhaust all avenues," said Malloy. "Your local SPCA, animal control, the police. Documentation is very important. Of course, do not go onto somebody’s property or attempt to feed the animals yourself.”
As of Friday, online court records did not show a court date for Aston or Shelton. Both were listed as fugitives.
