Suffolk County house of horrors found with hundreds of animals and elderly woman living in filth: cops

More than 200 sick, starving animals were discovered stacked in rusty cages and wallowing in their own filth with an elderly woman literally trapped alongside the creatures and piles of rotting garbage inside a Long Island house of horrors, police said.

Samantha Boyd, 57, and her boyfriend Neal Weschler, 61, were both hauled off to jail Wednesday morning for allegedly filling their Northport home with the horrific menagerie — from cats and dogs to parrots, hedgehogs, chinchillas and even squirrels.

Officers with the DA’s Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team said they entered the home to find wall-to-wall garbage, insect infestations and 206 neglected animals stacked in cages without clean food or water and sitting in their own waste.

“The level of neglect was unconscionable — conditions were deplorable,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina, with fellow officers describing the scene as straight out of a horror movie.

Among the chaos, a 95-year-old woman was also discovered confined upstairs, surrounded by towering piles of trash and debris so thick that she could barely move through the house, according to investigators.

Boyd — a licensed wildlife rehabilitator — and Weschler now face multiple counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty while Boyd was also charged with endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, prosecutors said.

Wildlife advocates called the situation a “travesty,” and called for more federal and state oversight and support for licensed rehabilitators. 

“Wild animals belong in the wild, not being hoarded in residential homes,” said John Di Leonardo, Executive Director of Humane Long Island. 

Di Leonardo revealed that his organization will be responsible for helping get the animals the veterinary care they “so desperately” need and will be overseeing the process of moving them back into the wild or into sanctuaries if they’re unable to survive on their own after. 

The Town of Huntington, meanwhile, will be responsible for addressing the home’s laundry list of building and fire code violations as well as the massive cleanup and repairs needed to make the property safe and livable again, officials said.

“This was a deeply distressing situation, but thanks to the swift action and collaboration between our office and the dedicated rescue partners, these animals are now safe and receiving the care that they urgently need,” said District Attorney Ray Tierney. 

Boyd has pleaded not guilty and was released but remains under the supervision of probation.

Wechsler is waiting to be arraigned at Suffolk County court, according to the DA.