Couple with 111 cats plead guilty to neglect

MUNCIE, Ind. – A couple who lived in a Daleville house with 111 cats – and their daughter, and an elderly relative – on Thursday pleaded guilty to related counts of neglect of a dependent.

Steven Michael Wood, 52, and Angela Rae Lock-Wood, 48, now of Anderson, were charged last August over the conditions in their home, described by Deputy Prosecutor Judi Calhoun on Thursday as “deplorable and not fit for a child.”

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Authorities had been called to the house – in the 13900 block of West Daleville Road – after Lock-Wood’s 75-year-old mother, who had been in failing health, died of natural causes.

Phil Peckinpaugh, superintendent of the Muncie Animal Shelter, and his staff members entered the one-story house – wearing protective gear and breathing masks – and eventually removed a total of 111 cats and two dogs.

Under questioning from defense attorney Lon Bryan, Lock-Wood said she became overwhelmed dealing with her mother’s deteriorating medical condition and the many animals in the house.

Bryan called the situation a “perfect storm.”

Lock-Wood agreed with the attorney’s assessment she “kind of gave up in terms of keeping your house up.”

The Woods’ daughter was placed in the care of Child Protective Services for about two months before being reunited with her parents, Lock-Wood told Delaware Circuit Court 3 Judge Linda Ralu Wolf.

The couple said they had completed a parenting course under the direction of CPS.

Their youngster attended Thursday’s sentencing hearings with her parents.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, the charge faced by each defendant was reduced from felony to misdemeanor status.

Wolf gave both a one-year suspended sentence, and ordered them to perform 35 hours of community service.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. Follow him on Twitter: @DouglasWalkerSP.