Fifteen months ago the atrocities against hundreds of animals at a farm sanctuary in New Jersey came to light. For many, it was too late. For Ellie and Apollo, they were some of the lucky ones.

This week, the woman responsible for the deaths of hundreds of animals and the abuse and neglect of hundreds more was to appear in court and finally receive a verdict.

Instead, the prosecutor requested a delay so that additional charges could be filed against the woman in addition to the 17 that she is currently facing. The additional charges that the state is seeking would be indictable and would be at a county level, instead of the municipal level that the case was previously assigned to.

An indictable offense is “a crime that a prosecutor can charge by bringing evidence of the alleged crime to a grand jury. It is a crime for which a grand jury determines that there is enough evidence to charge a defendant with a felony.”

The hope is that a higher court means a harsher sentence. We will have to wait until November 2nd to find out.

If you would like to sign the petition to demand justice for Ellie and Apollo, please go to https://www.change.org/p/demand-justice-for-dozens-of-animals-starved-to-death-at-a-former-sanctuary.

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