Overview
- Samantha Boyd, 57, and her partner, 61-year-old Neal Weschler, were arrested in Northport, with Boyd charged with endangering a vulnerable elderly person and multiple animal-neglect counts.
- Authorities say a search by the Suffolk County district attorney’s BEAST unit found 206 domestic and wild animals kept in overcrowded, waste-filled cages inside a debris-clogged, pest-infested home.
- A 95-year-old woman was discovered essentially trapped in an upstairs room and has been removed from the residence to receive care.
- Boyd, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, has been arraigned and pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors have notified New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation about the case.
- Nonprofit groups helped remove the animals for emergency care and placement as investigators continue evaluating conditions and health outcomes that could support further counts.