Homestead "Cat Lady" Charged; ALF Shutdown With 16 Dogs, 48 Cats
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HOMESTEAD (CBSMiami) -- A South Florida woman, known as "the cat lady" in the Villages of Homestead, is set to be arraigned Friday on felony charges after the Assisted Living Facility she ran was found to be filthy and unsafe due to the multitude of animals living on the property.
According to CBS4 News partner the Miami Herald, Eileen "Chea" Haran, 73, was charged with four counts of elder neglect and the Alita and John Haran ALF, was shutdown.
Haran was charged on February 3rd after an elderly woman, who reeked of urine, escaped from the home, flagged down a driver, and asked for help, according to the Herald. The woman told police she hadn't been fed that day and had trouble breathing because of the thick stench.
That stench came from the 48 cats and 16 dogs found on the property.
Police also found a woman lying on a mattress soaked in urine, piles of animal feces on the floors and a hole in the wall where a water pipe had burst, states the article. But it gets worse, officials also found the carcasses of a dozen cats stuffed in a freezer.
The Herald reports city officials condemned the home and case workers removed four elderly residents.
Haran's arrest triggered a widening investigation by police into dozens of incidents at the ALF.
Haran, who was released from jail on a $20,000 bond, is set to be arraigned March 4.
The case against the longtime Homestead resident, who operates an animal rescue on the property, represents one of the first prosecutions in years against an ALF owner in Miami-Dade on felony charges, and the first effort to shutter the home over the conditions inside.
Twice since 2007, state agencies found the home filthy and unsafe for frail elders — finding 69 cats on the property three years ago — but both times it was allowed to keep its doors open. Not until the police raided the house this month and code officers said it was unfit for habitation did state agents move to ban new residents, according to the Herald.
The dogs were collected by the county's animal services, but the cats weren't caught because most of them were running throughout the house and onto the lawn.
Police said they want the ALF closed permanently. But because Haran has cleaned up the home, the city has lifted the condemnation order. In addition, the state ban is a temporary measure, paving the way for what could be a battle to reopen the facility.
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