Heartless Christine Abrams allegedly starved her beautiful German shepherd Ella to death — because she was moving and her new roommate didn’t like dogs!
“She knowingly left her in a cage for two months without food or water and let her die an agonizing, lingering death,” outraged detective Barbara Matthews of the Cocoa (Fla.) Police Department told The ENQUIRER.
“It’s a heinous crime and Abrams deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”
Police were alerted by a former neighbor who peeked through a window of Abrams’ former residence and was horrified to see the 2-year-old white German shepherd lying dead in the cage.
When police tracked down Abrams, 29, she told officers she moved out of the house around New Year’s because her water had been cut off. She admitted to intentionally leaving Ella behind.
Incredibly, police found a large bag of dog food placed just a few feet from the locked cage!
“All Abrams had to do was leave the cage door open with some water — or even let the dog out the front door to wander the streets,” said Matthews.
“Eventually someone would have contacted us or Animal Control would have picked her up.”
Police originally charged Abrams with one count of felony cruelty, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, but incredibly, prosecutors in the case reduced the charge to a first-degree misdemeanor — which carries a penalty of only one year in jail and a $1,000 fine!
Chief Assistant State Attorney Wayne Holmes said the reduced charges take into account the unclear wording of laws set by the state legislature.
He encouraged residents to contact their state representatives and lobby for tougher laws that would make all animal cruelty a felony.
