‘Egregious’: New Bedford woman sentenced for animal cruelty, her daughter faces 39 similar charges

A New Bedford woman was sentenced to jail after she was convicted of animal cruelty charges this week, the same day her daughter was charged with 39 new counts of animal cruelty, the district attorney said Thursday.

Korina Ferreira, 46, was convicted on Monday by a jury in New Bedford District Court of two counts of animal cruelty, related to a 2020 case, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III said in a statement. Judge Joseph Harrington Jr. sentenced Ferreira to two-and-a-half years in the Bristol County House of Corrections, with one year to serve and the balance suspended. She was also placed on probation for an additional five years and ordered to not own or work with any animals.

Hours later on Monday, Ferreira’s daughter, Alexis Santin, who already had an open 2023 animal cruelty case pending in New Bedford District Court, was arrested again on Monday night and charged with 39 new counts of animal cruelty, Quinn said.

Between the mother and daughter cases, prosecutors outlined horrific conditions for several cats, dogs, rabbits, a bird, and geckos, some of which died as a result.

“These animals were living in deplorable conditions and as a result, suffered extreme neglect that included lack of adequate food, water and care. Many animals provide unconditional love and support to their owners, and to allow animals to live in these conditions is disgraceful,” Quinn said of Ferreira’s conviction on Monday. “I was very disturbed to learn the defendant’s daughter, who already has an open animal cruelty case, was arrested on the night of her mother’s conviction at the same apartment.”

More than three years ago, on Dec. 1, 2020, New Bedford Animal Control Officers responded to a Cedar Street apartment after receiving an anonymous call concerning the welfare of animals, Quinn said. Ferreira and Santin, her daughter, were both at the apartment at the time.

Officers Brandon George and Emanuel Maciel entered the apartment and immediately smelled feline urine. Officers noted fly traps in the living room completely covered with flies and flies flying all around the apartment, Quinn said. A fish tank with eight goldfish had a green tint and dirt floating on the surface of the water. Ferreira told officers she accidentally dropped a plant into the tank and the tank was green when they purchased it.

In the kitchen, officers saw dishes everywhere and three bowls of dog food but no water, Quinn said. Officers were told the dogs could only be provided water in intervals, due to one of the dogs throwing up the water. The officers testified at trial that once the dogs were in their custody, none of the dogs threw up water.

When officers asked to view the dogs, which were in a bedroom, Ferreira told officers they could not view the dogs because the dogs did not like men and would attack. At trial, Maciel testified that the dogs never attempted to attack, Quinn said.

Officers were also told by Ferreira that there were five cats in the apartment that they could not see because they would escape and attack. While next to the bedroom where the cats were locked in, officers noted a very strong odor of cat urine and feces and could hear cats meowing, Quinn said.

Officers asked Ferreira to sign a consent to search form, which she did. Officers then found 13 cats kept in a small bedroom that was filled with urine and feces, Quinn said.

Officers dressed themselves in personal protective equipment to search the apartment “Due to the overwhelming smell of noxious levels of ammonia,” Quinn said.

A total of 34 photos depicting the condition of the animals and their living environment were viewed by jurors. At trial, officers testified that three dogs -- all American Bulldogs and 3 years old -- were severely malnourished, Quinn said.

One dog named Bam Bam was so malnourished his spine and ribs were visible. Bam Bam also had clear injuries to his face and rump. Maciel testified the injuries were consistent with something continuously rubbing on the dog and compared the dog’s injuries to bed sores.

Jurors also reviewed pictures of the dog’s bowls, which showed feces surrounding the bowls, and photographs of injured cats in the apartment, Quinn said. Several of the cats had injuries due to the amount to fleas, requiring flea treatments. Photographs showed the cats’ litter box was so full of feces, the cats began to use their bed as their litter box.

At the time of her mother’s trial on Monday, Santin already had an open 2023 animal cruelty case pending in New Bedford District Court.

In that pending case from 2023, New Bedford Police received a call for a report of a female who was being attacked by dogs. When officers arrived, Santin was in an ambulance, Quinn said. She told Maciel, the officer, that she was taking her dogs outside with muzzles, when the muzzle of one dog, Chompa, came off. She said Chompa began attacking another dog, AJ. Santin told police she pulled Chompa into a pen where Chompa began attacking her.

Santin told officers she then pulled the muzzle off of AJ to protect herself, Quinn said. AJ then began attacking Chompa. Officers noted blood on both dogs. In Santin’s Cedar Street apartment, investigators noted a strong smell of urine and feces. In one room, officers found another dog and piles of dog, cat and rabbit feces.

Numerous rabbits were found, in addition to dog crates with food surrounded by feces, Quinn said.

Chompa was ultimately euthanized. Three dogs, several rabbits and a cat were removed from the home.

On Monday, police obtained a search warrant for the same Cedar Street apartment, after receiving a call from a veterinarian who suspected abuse and neglect of a dog, Quinn said.

New Bedford Animal Control Officers executed the search warrant Monday night. They “were immediately hit with a strong odor of urine and feces,” Quinn said. “The apartment was covered in feces and urine.”

Officers found a Doberman in the living room and a Pit bull attached to a 3-foot leash and tied to a dog crate, with two more dogs in crates, Quinn said. Two additional dogs were found in Santin’s car, hiding among clutter with no source of food and water. The carcass of a dead bird was also found in the apartment.

“The crates were covered in animal feces, making it impossible to see the floor of the crates,” Quinn said in his statement. “The food and water bowls were empty and also had feces. Three additional dogs were in a front room. All dogs had some form of emaciation, mutilation and low weight.”

Five geckos, some of them dead, were also found in a terrarium with no source of heat, food or water.

Police arrested Santin and charged her with 39 new counts of animal cruelty.

On Tuesday, Judge David Sorrenti declined to revoke Santin’s bail at the request of prosecutors, Quinn said. Santin was released on conditions that she not possess or care for any animals, that she surrender all animals to Animal Control within two days, that she can no longer live at the Cedar Street apartment, that she must report in person to probation once a week, and also have unannounced probation visits and undergo mental health evaluation and counseling.

Santin is due back in court on March 27 for a pretrial hearing.

Also, in 2018, Ferreira, a former Fall River resident, faced multiple counts of animal cruelty after 17 dogs, 16 chickens and a dead pig were found in a filthy Rhode Island home that had been condemned and was a vacant, the Associated Press reported at the time. The outcome of that case was unclear Thursday.

If Ferreira is charged with committing a new crime during her probation, she is liable to serve the remaining 18 months of the two-and-a-half year jail term, Quinn said.

“At the very least, neither of these women belong anywhere near any animals,” Quinn said. “The jail sentence imposed by the court in the Ferreira case for these egregious facts was appropriate. I want to thank New Bedford Animal Control officers for their work in these cases and many others.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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