Beacon Hill's notorious cat lady was in the spotlight again yesterday after an angry confrontation with cops who say they found at least two dead felines in her freezer following a brief standoff at her Plymouth home.
Police removed her Great Dane and three Persian cats after an allegation of animal abuse against Heidi Erickson, who was convicted of animal cruelty in 2005 and kept dead cats in her freezer when she lived on Beacon Hill.
Erickson, 48, who had a housing-related court hearing yesterday, was distraught and highly emotional when she returned home over the lunch hour to find an officer in front of her house.
"There isn't any abuse. You have no probable cause to go in and take my animals," Erickson could be heard yelling at a police officer. At the time, she was on the phone with a Herald reporter. Police armed with a search warrant later removed the animals. It was unclear last yesterday where they were taken.
Erickson told the Herald she has not abused her animals.
Plymouth Police Capt. John Rogers said police searched Erickson's Lothrop Street apartment Tuesday and found two dead cats in her freezer. At the time, police were aiding the Plymouth Board of Health in investigating odors coming from her home. Rogers said police removed the pets as part of an animal abuse investigation. He refused to provide any information about the alleged complaint.
"We are investigating further into animal neglect issues," he said.
Erickson said police seized her Great Dane and three Persian cats. She said she relies on the animals for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, which she claims is linked to her Beacon Hill battle.
But the Supreme Judicial Court handed Erickson a bizarre victory, when it ruled in 2005 that Erickson could keep dead animal carcasses as long as she didn't violate health codes.
Her landlord is in the process of trying to evict her because of her pets, she said. An attorney for Erickson's landlord could not be reached.
Case Updates
The animal rights advocate who cared for Heidi Erickson's malnourished cats blasted judicial officials this week for giving the so-called Cat Lady a light sentence for cruelty to animals.
Linda Brackett, director of the Nemasket Orphaned Animal Haven, said she now will work to make the state's animal cruelty laws even tougher.
"The sentence shows that animals in this society are not given the respect they need and deserve. They are helpless animals that can't help themselves," Brackett said. "I would have liked to see five years, but would have been happy with a 2 1/2-year sentence."
Erickson was, indeed, sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Tuesday, but Judge Beverly Cannone suspended the sentence after Erickson serves just 90 days. With time off for her stay at a state hospital, Erickson is expected to serve only about 17 days behind bars.
A District Court jury convicted Erickson of eight counts of cruelty to animals in December. The charges stemmed from the 2009 seizure of 11 Persian cats from her Lothrop Street apartment.
A veterinarian testified at trial that eight of the cats were malnourished and six were in "medically unacceptable" condition. Five of those six cats have since died.
Brackett, who took custody of the cats for police, has since found foster homes for the remaining cats. She expects to permanently place the cats in those homes now that the trial is over.
Brackett took three days off from work in December to attend the trial. Several of the foster caregivers attended as well.
None made it to sentencing, however, because the defense moved up the date from Jan. 24 after doctors at Taunton State Hospital completed a pre-sentencing evaluation of Erickson earlier than expected.
Brackett said as many as 20 animal rights advocates planned to attend the sentencing. Yet despite her close contact with both police and prosecutors handing the case, she never got notice that the sentencing would be held early. Brackett had even prepared remarks.
"We should have been there, for the victims of the crime were in our care and custody," Brackett said. "We wanted the court and her (Erickson) to understand the condition of these cats and how mentally and physically challenging it was to care for them, how they have suffered and how much we have done to try to keep them alive. It's one thing to hear about this, but when you care for them on a daily basis, especially the first couple of months, it was very, very difficult."
Brackett said she was particularly disturbed to learn that sheriff's deputies found five new cats and two horses at Erickson's new home in Kentucky when they searched the property after her conviction.
"That just proves that nothing is going to deter her and proves the sentence should have been harsher," Brackett said.
Cannone did not refer to the animals in Kentucky in her sentencing remarks. She did note that the sentencing memorandum submitted by Defense Attorney Williams Gens was especially helpful.
In it, Gens supplied a list of the penalties for animal cruelty convictions in every state.
Only one, Oklahoma, rivaled Massachusetts in the severity of penalties, and that was for intentional cruelty, not mere neglect.
Gens found that in cases of neglect, most states treat animal cruelty as a misdemeanor, even for a second offense. Only five states impose penalties of more than a year.
Erickson faced up to 20 years on the eight counts. Cannone's 2 1/2-year sentence was concurrent on six of the counts. That included five years of probation during which Erickson must complete an anger management program and have no contact whatsoever with animals. Erickson would face serving the remaining 16 months of her sentence for a violation.
The judge also gave Erickson five more years of probation on the other two counts. She noted that a judge could amend that portion of the sentence to include jail time if Erickson fails to comply with probation.
Police and prosecutors agree with Brackett that the sentence should have been harsher, but both are satisfied by the restrictions.
A spokesman for District Attorney Timothy Cruz said prosecutors share the public's revulsion over the case.
"This was an outrageous case of animal abuse that sickened everyone connected to this investigation. This defendant has a long history of this kind of behavior and has shown little inclination to change. We believe that in these circumstances a lengthy jail sentence was appropriate and we made that argument to the judge," Assistant District Attorney Bridget Norton Middleton said.
Middleton said prosecutors are required by law to notify victims of crimes when sentencing dates change. She said prosecutors did not notify Brackett and others animal rights advocates of the change in sentencing date because they did not qualify as victims under provisions of the law.
Local police echoed concerns about the severity of the sentence, but found satisfaction in keeping Erickson from animals in the future.
"We're very satisfied they successfully prosecuted this case. And, while we would have liked to have seen her given more prison time, we respect the decision of the court and we're satisfied with the fact that she's on the five-years probation," Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri said. "We're also really pleased that she's been ordered to have no contact whatsoever with animals."
Botieri said animal rights groups from around the state have contacted him this week to express their thanks for taking a firm stand on the abuse issues and securing a conviction, despite the cost of caring for the animals.
The town still retains custody of the cats, but they should be available for permanent adoption soon, despite Erickson's plans to appeal.
A Plymouth District Court jury convicted Heidi Erickson on eight counts of animal cruelty Thursday.
The former Lothrop Street resident buried her face in her hands and quietly wept after the jury of three men and three women found her guilty on all counts.
Judge Beverly Cannone delayed sentencing, but revoked Erickson's bail, sending Erickson to Framingham State Prison for at least one night. Erickson was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs and shackles but will return to court Friday morning for an interview with a state psychologist.
Cannone said she is considering sending Erickson to Taunton State Hospital, but would need a recommendation for a placement.
Erickson will face up to 2 1/2 years in jail on each of the eight counts when she is finally sentenced.
The jury deliberated just slightly more than an hour before returning verdicts on all counts Thursday afternoon.
Prosecutors alleged Erickson failed to provide proper care for eight of 11 Persian cats seized from her apartment in March 2009. Police found most of the cats in the attic of Erickson's apartment, after investigating a complaint of a putrid smell in the building.
A professor from the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine testified that eight of the cats were undernourished and that six of those were in "medically unacceptable" condition.
A veterinarian who testified for the defense said the cats appeared thin but noted that a variety of genetic causes could have contributed to their conditions. He was only concerned about the health of two of the cats.
Linda Brackett, an animal rights advocate who consulted with Plymouth police on care for the cats, said the verdicts were bittersweet relief as only six of the 11 cats are still alive. One of the cats died within days of being taken from Erickson's home. Four others died of related ailments over the course of the last 20 months, Brackett, the director of the Nemasket Orphaned Animal Home, said.
Jurors in the trial were not informed about the deaths of any of the cats. Nor did they hear that police found dead cats in Erickson's freezer while searching her apartment.
Brackett attended all three days of the trial along with several women who have taken some of the cats into their homes. The women embraced as Erickson shuffled out of the courtroom in chains.
"Justice was served for the five we were unable to save," Brackett said. "We have six remaining and four will stay with their loving foster families. The other two will be placed for adoption."
Defense attorney William Gens said an appeal is likely, given the judge's ruling barring key defense testimony from the trial.
Earlier Thursday Cannone ruled Dr. Rodney Poling, the defense's expert witness, could not testify about tests he conducted on most of the cats while examining them in March and April 2009.
Cannone found the evidence inadmissible because neither Gens nor any of at least three other defense lawyers who preceded him on the case ever notified prosecutors of the test results.
Erickson, in an unusual personal appeal to the judge, said the loss of the evidence critically damaged her defense. She said it constituted a mistrial and suggested that one of her prior attorneys may have even deliberately sabotaged her case.
Gens said there was obviously some evidence the defense would have liked to present, but if that becomes the subject of an appeal, a different defense attorney will handle it.
"The jury found against her but it was hardly an open and shut case. It was a judgment call," Gens said.
Cannone granted Gens' request to delay sentencing but decided to revoke bail after learning from prosecutors that Erickson has been living in Kentucky for some time.
Cannone said she might be inclined to send Erickson to Taunton State Hospital for a medical evaluation prior to sentencing but later reported that the doctor needed to screen patients for an evaluation was unavailable Thursday afternoon.
The doctor will meet with Erickson Friday morning at the courthouse. Sentencing could follow, depending on the outcome of the interview.
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