Coon Rapids Woman Charged With Animal Cruelty After 78 Cats Were Removed From Her Former Home

Coon Rapids Woman Charged With Animal Cruelty After 78 Cats Were Removed From Her Former Home

Over a year after 78 cats were discovered abandoned inside a Coon Rapids home, their former caretaker is facing multiple criminal charges.

According to court documents, 59-year-old Jacqueline Marie Broberg of Coon Rapids has been charged with felony animal cruelty, three counts of misdemeanor animal torture and a misdemeanor charge for depriving an animal of food.

She faces up to five years and 90 days in prison if found guilty on all charges.

A criminal complaint states that a caller alerted the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office on March 1, 2024, that they had found 30 to 40 cats inside a house that appeared to have been abandoned.

The animals were found by the house’s new owner, who had purchased the building in a foreclosure sale with plans of flipping it. The owner discovered the felines living in squalor when they arrived.

Court documents state the cats had no access to food and water in the house. They were surrounded by overflowing litter boxes and dead cats, while “all surfaces” in the building were covered in cat hair, dust, feces and dried urine.

Law enforcement had to use N95 masks to enter the residence due to the overpowering odor of ammonia.

Due to limited resources, only the most ill and easily captured cats could be removed from the home on March 1; five in total were brought to the Animal Humane Society. While four were able to be nursed back to health, one had to be euthanized.

A rescue group was later able to assist the remaining cats, removing 78 from the residence.

According to court documents, 21 dead cats were found throughout the house, including a kitten that had been trapped under a mattress.

The previous owner of the house was determined to be Broberg, who had been evicted in February 2024.

SOURCE: abc KSTP.COM