Rescue owner sentenced in 'terrible' animal cruelty case involving dead dogs in freezers

When authorities searched Ronda Murphy's dog rescue in Ohio last summer, they discovered 92 animals living in conditions that were like nothing they'd ever experienced.

"I've never had to walk out of a house as fast as I had to walk out of the houses these dogs lived in. The ammonia smell was unbearable," said Abigail Forkner, a Butler County deputy dog warden. "It's nothing that any dog should have ever had to live in for any period of time."

Murphy was sentenced Monday to 4½ years in prison − an unexpected punishment exceeding prosecutors' recommendation that 61-year-old Murphy never be allowed to own companion animals in addition to probation.

Murphy pleaded guilty in January to eight felony counts and four misdemeanor counts of cruelty to companion animals. In exchange for her guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop 11 other animal cruelty charges.

Murphy owned and operated the Helping Hands for Furry Paws dog rescue in Madison Township. When deputy dog wardens searched two properties in July, they found adult dogs and nursing puppies living in their feces without food or water and, in some cases, without adequate ventilation in the summer heat, according to police and court documents. 

Authorities also discovered dog remains scattered throughout the properties, including some inside refrigerators and freezers that weren't working.

Roughly 30 dead dogs were uncovered in total, however, officials could only recover the remains of 18 because some had decomposed to the point their bodies were liquefied.

Two of those dogs were sent to the Ohio State University for autopsy and it was revealed that the animals died from starvation, prosecutors said.

"This is really a terrible case," Butler County Common Pleas Judge Noah Powers II told Murphy. "You obviously knew that there were dogs dying out there and you didn't do anything about it," the judge added.

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Forkner said that deputy dog wardens gave Murphy numerous opportunities to work with authorities and she chose not to.

Butler County Sheriff’s Office records show that deputies responded to Murphy’s two properties at least 36 times from February 2020 to July 2023 to check on the animals’ welfare and respond to complaints about the conditions there. 

The deputies struggled at times to catch Murphy at home and often had to leave notices behind for her. Officials even told Murphy they thought she should get out of the dog rescue business, the records show. She agreed, but the problems persisted.

In the years leading up to Murphy's arrest, deputies received several reports about Murphy's properties, including that she was housing dozens of dogs in deplorable conditions, lying to authorities and keeping animal remains in freezers. 

It finally took an early morning surprise visit for deputies to substantiate those claims, with authorities finding enough evidence of animal cruelty to obtain a search warrant and file charges. 

"This is definitely one of the worst cases I've ever seen in my eight years," Forkner said.

As part of her sentence, Murphy was ordered to pay over $16,000 to the Animal Friends Humane Society, with that money reimbursing the nonprofit for the cost of caring for those dogs during the week it took for Murphy to relinquish her rights to the animals.

The judge also ordered that Murphy be indefinitely barred from keeping any companion animals after she is released from prison.

Joseph Auciello Jr., Murphy's attorney, indicated that she intends to appeal her sentence.

"There's no greater punishment for what happened than what I go through every day. I punish myself every day," Murphy said in court. "This is something I have to live with the rest of my life and I just pray that the dogs all have a good home."