Community Corner

Muddy Paws' Eldrup To Consider Guilty Plea In Animal Cruelty Case

Prosecutor says judge wants Diane Eldrup to serve jail time for starving dogs to death in Deer Park.

Diane Eldrup and her attorney, John Curnyn, appeared in court today to discuss a plea with Judge James Booras and Assistant State's Attorney Michael Mermel.

Eldrup is being asked to plead guilty to 19 counts of aggravated animal cruelty, a Class 4 felony, with a maximum punishment of one to three years in jail. In exchange for the plea, Eldrup would not be prosecuted for the 19 counts of animal torture, a Class 3 felony which carries a maximum jail sentence of five years.

Eldrup is accused of starving to death 19 dogs, although a total of 34 dogs and three birds were discovered dead at Muddy Paws, a former rescue and boarding facility on Route 12 in Deer Park.

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While the plea conference was private, Eldrup and the attorneys returned to the court to agree to a Sept. 2 trial date if Eldrup does not accept the plea.

Judge James Booras said there would be no further negotiations and “nothing was set in stone.”

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“All sentencing alternatives available will be considered,” Booras said.

About 20 animal advocates, many wearing rescue t-shirts or animal advocate buttons, waited in court for nearly two hours. Afterwards, Mermel spoke to animal advocates and the press.

Mermel explained that according to precedent, Eldrup would likely not even get the full three years for the lesser Class 4 felony because she has no prior criminal record.

“The judge said she would have to serve some incarceration,” Mermel said.

Curnyn and Eldrup will now consider whether to take the plea and allow the judge to determine sentencing or go to trial Sept. 2.

“She wants to take time to discuss the plea with her attorney or roll the dice and go to trial,” Mermel said.

Check Patch for interviews with animal advocates who attended today’s hearing.


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