WOMAN LEAVES PETS TO STARVE TO DEATH IN NORTHUMBERLAND HOUSE
A woman left her pets to starve to death after moving to another house less than two miles away.The decomposing remains of two cats, who had been shut in bedrooms, and a hamster were found by the RSPCA at Christine Overton's property in Seghill, Northumberland.
The cats had been unable to reach two large boxes of cat food, and a vet estimated they had been dead for at least three months.
Overton, 54, was handed a suspended prison sentence and banned from keeping animals for life during a sentencing hearing at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court earlier this month.
The court heard how RSPCA Inspector Rowena Proctor visited Overton's new address in Seaton Delaval and was told she had rehomed her previous pets months ago.
However, her previous house was found littered with rubbish and animal remains, including two decomposing cats called Tom and Oreo, who were found behind a curtain and near a radiator respectively, both dehydrated and starved.
The animals had been dead for a minimum of 23 days, with one estimated to have died over three months ago.
Overton admitted she hadn't returned to the house since April 2024, had been self-medicating with alcohol, and had arranged for someone else to look after her pets — which was not adequate.
She was convicted under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, sentenced to 18 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months, banned from keeping animals for life, and ordered to perform ten days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, 250 hours of unpaid work, and pay costs of £750.
Inspector Proctor expressed her sadness at finding the animals and emphasized there is no excuse for neglecting animals to suffer and die in misery.
