Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Hawthorn Woods Police Chief Jennifer Paulus confirmed receiving a report of a tortured cat.
A Hawthorn Woods family made a gruesome discovery in their backyard - their deceased family cat. To make matters worse, it appeared the cat may have been tortured prior to its death, according to the woman who filed the police report with Hawthorn Woods Police. Hawthorn Woods Police Chief Jennifer Paulus said the department received a report on Sept. 23 of a deceased cat found in a backyard on the 0-100 block of Highpoint Drive. Paulus said the woman reported that her cat went missing on Sept. 13. On Sept. 17, the cat was found dead in the yard and it seemed that the cat was tortured prior to death, the woman stated in the report. Police were not able to verify whether or not the cat was tortured because the family had already buried the …
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Judge denies defense motion that prosecution did not show evidence that the deaths were intentional.
Two veterinarians said Thursday that the six dogs sent for necropsy from the Muddy Paws site had died of starvation. Their statements came on the second day of testimony at Lake County Circuit Court. Diane Eldrup is charged with 18 felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and 18 felony counts of animal torture. Dr. Ned Bartlett, a Winthrop Harbor veterinarian, provided details of his examination of three of the dogs discovered at the former shelter and boarding facility in Deer Park. Under Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Mermel's questioning, Bartlett told the jury the three dogs he examined were severely underweight, weighing less than half of what would be normal for their lengths. He also said none of the dogs had any contents in …
Monday, August 8, 2011
Diane Eldrup has not yet accepted an offer to plead guilty to lesser charges of aggravated animal cruelty.
Diane Eldrup and her attorney have not yet accepted a plea agreement, indicating the animal torture and cruelty case is likely to go to trial Sept. 2. Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Mermel, who is prosecuting the case, said he has not heard from Diane Eldrup’s attorney, John Curnyn, since a plea deal was offered June 10. “He hasn’t said anything, so I’m assuming we’re going ahead on the trial date,” Mermel said. 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. Eldrup has been charged with 19 counts of aggravated animal cruelty, a Class 4 felony, with a maximum punishment of one to three years in…
mary lee rishel
8:50 am on Saturday, August 13, 2011
i hope she pays her dues...this behavior is unacceptable. creatures are helpless and insane or not, the out come will set a precident. more ›