A New Jersey man and woman both face child neglect and animal cruelty charges after investigators found a boy living in deplorable conditions and determined more than 100 dogs died at their home.
Rebecca Halbach, 35, and Brandon Leconey, 32, of Evesham Township, were both arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and animal cruelty.
Investigators said a nonprofit group based in North Carolina gave several foster dogs to Halbach and Leconey as well as money to help them care for the animals. A member of the group became suspicious however after they noticed one of the foster dogs had died.
"That one of the dogs that was given in their care had died and that they were trying to pass off another dog as the dog that he was looking for," Evesham Police Chief Walt Miller said. "He knew that wasn't the dog. So that prompted us to investigate."
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The group member visited the couple's home on the 600 block of Main Street and noticed more suspicious activity, investigators said. He then reported the couple to police, who arrived at the home on Monday at 2:45 p.m.
Responding officers found more than 30 dead dogs in various stages of decay, 14 living dogs and several cats and rabbits inside the property, according to police.
"There's dogs in cages. Live dogs in cages. Dead dogs in cages. Dead animals throughout the house," Chief Miller said.
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Investigators believe the dogs died from malnourishment.
A 9-year-old boy was also found inside the home and removed due to the unhealthy conditions, investigators said. The child is in the care of the New Jersey Division of Child Protection & Permanency (DCP&P).
Chief Miller said the boy appeared to be healthy though the deplorable conditions he was living in was a major cause for concern.
"It's definitely concerning having a 9-year-old child living in this home, sleeping in this home, eating in this home," Chief Miller said.
Police said nine of the living dogs were taken to the Mt. Laurel Animal Hospital, with several of them in extremely poor health. One of the dogs was euthanized, officials said. The other dogs will be transported to an animal shelter once they recover.
The cats and rabbits are also being taken to animal shelters.
After executing a search warrant on the property, police found the bodies of several more dogs in an open hole in the ground that was covered with a tarp, Chief Miller said.
Investigators determined as many as 100 dogs died at the home over time.
"I've been doing this for 27 years and I've seen prior cases involving animal abuse and animal cruelty. I've never seen anything like this," Chief Miller said.
Leconey was lodged in the Burlington County Jail while Halbach was being evaluated at the hospital for an unrelated medical condition, officials said. Halbach will be lodged in jail once she is cleared for incarceration. They will remain in custody pending a detention hearing at the Burlington County Superior Court.
Officials said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges will be filed. They are trying to contact any other individuals or animal shelters who may have provided foster dogs for the suspects.
