5/16/14 - A trial has ended in the conviction of a Cohoctah Township woman on animal cruelty charges. District Court Judge Carol Sue Reader handed down the verdict Thursday against 71-year-old Velva Jean Wainscott of Cohoctah Township following a bench trial. She was charged with cruelty to one animal resulting in death and a second count of cruelty involving two other horses who were malnourished. Livingston County Animal Control officers went to Wainscott's Byron Road farm on Jan. 12 (pictured) after a 911 caller reported seeing a dead horse. Witnesses testified that water for Wainscott's horses was frozen and their hay was filled with feces and urine, making it inedible. Wainscott testified that her horses had adequate water and feed. She says she fed them twice a day and if she was unable to do it, she had many friends who helped her. Wainscott's horses were previously seized by Animal Control in November of 2012 after she was accused of abandoning or cruelty to 10 or more horses. Those charges were dismissed with prejudice and the animals were returned. Sentencing on Thursdayâs conviction is set for June 18th.
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