HARWICH, MASS. (WHDH) - A woman is accused of fatally stabbing three sheep in Harwich Tuesday morning, according to the Harwich Police Department.
Officers responded to 35 Chatham Road for a report regarding neglected sheep and several dead animals on the property, police said.
Police met with Meredith Virpino, a resident at the home, who allegedly told them she had killed the sheep by stabbing them in the throat, according to the police department.
The officers went into a barn on the property and found two dead sheep with stab wounds to their throats, police said. A third sheep was found alive with a stab wound to the throat, but was later euthanized by a veterinarian due to its condition, authorities said.
“The conditions in the barn were deplorable and there was a lack of food and water,” the Harwich Police Department said in a statement.
Officers also discovered another 12 dead animals in the barn, officers said.
Virpino was arrested Tuesday and later released on $500 bail, according to police. She was arraigned in Orleans District Court Wednesday morning on 15 counts of animal cruelty.
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