Cruelty to animals case goes to trial

FARMINGTON - A New Sharon woman accused of cruelty to animals after the state seized more than 70 from her home last March, will have her case heard before a Franklin County jury Monday.

Carol Murphy, 60, is charged with one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals and four misdemeanor counts of failing to have a license or permit for a Quaker parrot, peacock, pygmy hedgehogs and Russian tortoises.

The trial is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. Monday in Franklin County Superior Court.

Murphy pleaded innocent last April to the charges in 12th District Court in Farmington.

The state's charge of cruelty to animals says that on or about Jan. 1 through March 8, 2004, Murphy deprived the animals of food, medical attention, proper shelter or clean conditions.

Many of the animals were kept in Murphy's two-story, white colonial home on Lane Road.

Thirty-three animals went to the Kennebec Valley Humane Society in Augusta, which saw an outpouring of support by hundreds of people from around the state and beyond, including those who wanted to adopt the animals and those who brought food for them.

Murphy's attorney at her arraignment, Roger Bourget, said she had a history of being kind to animals.

Murphy's attorney now is Walter McKee.