B.G. couple accused in animal cruelty case go on trial

BOWLING GREEN -- A jury in Bowling Green Municipal Court heard opening statements and testimony Tuesday in an animal cruelty case against a couple accused of letting their pets and farm animals go hungry, thirsty, and unkempt.

James Southwick, 51, and his wife, Karan, 49, of 18004 Haskins Rd., went into Tuesday's trial facing 34 counts of animal cruelty for each of the 34 animals seized from their property during and after a July 24 raid by the Wood County Humane Society: four horses, a mule, nine dogs, eight cats, three guinea fowl, two roosters, two pigs, and one each of a rooster, raccoon, goat, turtle, and tropical fish.

Cruelty inspectors told the jury how they found a barnyard full of underweight animals with empty water and food bowls. The four horses and the mule were crowded into one manure-covered horse stall.

"This is a case of neglect," said Andrew Schuman, prosecutor for the humane society. "There's no period of time in which it's OK to leave these animals without food and water."

But defense attorney Scott Coon argued that the Southwicks' animals were fed and properly cared for. The humane society inspectors happened to see the animals at a time of day before the Southwicks refilled the troughs and dishes, he said.

"It's not against the law not to have your water dish full of water and your food dish full of food at all times," Mr. Coon, a lawyer with Rayle, Matthews & Coon, told the jury of five men and three women. "The problem is they want to present to you a snapshot and then let your imagination run wild."

Attorneys said that by the end of the trial's first day, prosecutors had dropped seven cruelty counts involving allegations of fleas, overgrown horse hooves, and the Southwicks' live-in raccoon. Judge Mark Reddin dismissed two additional counts against the couple related to the fish and turtle, Mr. Coon said.

The Southwicks were expected to testify this morning in the trial's final day. The jury heard Tuesday from the prosecution's veterinarian and cruelty inspector witnesses as well as defense witnesses who vouched for the good care they saw animals receive from the Southwicks.

Dr. Richard Carstensen, a veterinarian, said he found the mule and three of the four horses to be underweight during post-raid examinations. He could see ribs on the animals, and one horse was especially thin.

Dr. Timothy Stacy said the seized rooster was also very underweight and displayed a degree of muscle loss that takes several weeks of underfeeding to develop.

Cruelty investigator Erin McKibben told the jury she found just an inch or so of water in the horses' trough, and she said the floor of their stall was covered in urine and manure. The pigs, dogs, and birds were also without water or food, and the goat was tied up outside in the grass without shelter from the baking sun, Ms. McKibben said.

"I was shocked by the conditions," she said.

Ms. McKibben called for the July 24 raid after having observed poor conditions the previous day while investigating a complaint about poor ventilation in the Southwicks' barn. The ventilation complaint turned out to be false, she said.

In cross-examination, Mr. Coon cajoled Ms. McKibben to concede that she couldn't say for sure the last time the animals were fed prior to the raid.

The defense attorney told jurors that the seized cats were "barn cats" who lived on the Southwicks' property but weren't owned by them. "These barn cats just show up," Mr. Coon said.

Nearly all of the seized animals now live in foster homes, officials said.

Contact JC Reindl at: jreindl@theblade.com or 419-724-6065.