EVERETT — A mother and son accused of letting more than 30 animals starve to death inside a feces-infested Granite Falls home each was ordered held Tuesday on $100,000 bail.
Everett District Court Judge Roger Fisher followed a prosecutor’s recommendation in setting the six-figure bail for Di
ane Cowling, 65, and her son, Michael, 36.
They were booked into the Snohomish County Jail on Monday for investigation of animal cruelty. Investigators believe that they allowed 29 cats and two dogs to die inside the home in the 500 block of Granite Ave.
The house was under foreclosure. When a locksmith hired by a mortgage company opened the front door last Friday, he noticed a heavy stench and saw several dead animals on the floor. He called 911.
Police initially believed there might have been human victims inside the home, according to court papers.
Michael Cowling told investigators the family had been experiencing financial difficulties and had moved out in early December. He told police he’d been to the house several times to get tools and feed the animals, court papers show.
The animal deaths sparked outrage. Before Monday’s bail hearing, more than a dozen animal rights advocates gathered in front of the Snohomish County Courthouse. Many wore T-shirts for Pasado’s Safe Haven, an animal-welfare group from Monroe.
Demonstrators held photographs that police let Pasado’s workers take inside the Granite Falls home. The photos showed animal carcasses and floors covered in feces several inches deep.
Granite Falls Police Chief Dennis Taylor called Pasado’s for help after viewing the grim discovery.
After police collected evidence, Pasado’s was asked to remove the dead animals. The group has agreed to pay for necropsies.
It was a financial decision based on limited resources in a small town, Taylor said.
“We don’t have money for that,” the police chief said. “What do I do with the carcasses? How do I pay for the necropsies?”
Three surviving animals also were turned over to Pasado’s.
Pasado’s will have its own veterinarian handle tissue samples and hire a veterinarian trained in forensics to conduct the necropsies, the group’s spokeswoman Amber Chenoweth said.
“We are not law enforcement,” Chenoweth said. “We are just here as a support to law enforcement. We take direction from police. They instruct us.”
Snohomish County animal control officers are commissioned to do criminal investigations. Granite Falls doesn’t have a contract for their services.
“We don’t enlist the services of volunteer organizations,” said county animal control manager Vicki Lubrin.
Pasado’s is under a court order stemming from a 16-month investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office. The order, made public in October, bars the group from misrepresenting how it will use money raised to help animals. In the past, Pasado’s has linked high-profile animal abuse cases to its fundraising efforts.
John Stansell, a deputy prosecutor who handled Monday’s bail hearing, said he can imagine a defense attorney raising the issue of an advocacy organization being involved in the case. At the same time, he said he is confident in the police department’s handling of evidence.
“I’m sure it will become an issue,” he said. “Does it give me heartburn? No. Does it mean these folks have to be careful? Sure.”
Prosecutors and defense attorney at times employ outside experts to examine evidence and use those findings in their cases, Snohomish County chief criminal deputy prosecutor Joan Cavagnaro said.
They also have to be ready to answer questions about the chain of custody of evidence, when presenting those results, Cavagnaro said.
In a 2010 case, Pasado’s exhumed the carcass of a pit bull that had been killed by its owner. They also took it to a veterinarian for a necropsy.
In doing so, they both helped and hampered the case, prosecutors said. It brought the case to the attention of law enforcement, but created problems with presenting evidence in court.
Taylor, the Granite Falls police chief, said that should not be an issue this time.
“After the investigation was done, and only then, they were allowed to go in and assist us,” Taylor said.
Animal cruelty is a felony. Stansell said the $100,000 bail reflects the seriousness of accusations of “what they did or more importantly didn’t do.”
Reporter Diana Hefley contributed to this story. Eric Stevick, 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
