Halina Morley Evicted From Weld Property Where Deceased Animals Discovered, Removed
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) -- Forty-year-old Halina Morley, recently the subject of scrutiny by local animal welfare officials and the recipient of scorn from animal welfare activists, has left the rental property on which with several decaying carcasses were found among her herd of living animals two months ago.
The situation came to light in February after the operator of a nearby animal sanctuary posted photos of Morley's pens and corrals on Facebook.
April 1st, that same person posted photos of the vacant holding pens littered with debris. No animals are visible in the photo.
A spokesman with the Weld County Sheriff's Office confirmed Sunday that county personnel gathered recently - with legal documents in hand - to evict Morley.
But when they arrived at the property at 5406 F Street, Morley was already gone.
So were her chickens, rabbits, ducks, sheep, goats, pigs and other small livestock.
Weld County officials initially investigated the conditions of the living animals in February. Animal control officers and veterinarians conducted examinations.
But, to the dismay of animal rights activists near and far, the agencies concluded the living animals were in acceptable condition and, despite the presence of the dead animals in the same pens, no legal definition of animal neglect or abuse had been met.
The determination was not well received by many members of the public. Consternation grew to the point where the sheriff's office had to warn potential animal rescuers that they would be arrested for trespassing on Morley's property.
A month ago, the Colorado Department of Agriculture got involved and claimed the nine carcasses for testing. Conclusive results of the testing at Colorado State University have not been released.
Monday, an employee at the Friendly Village of Greeley Manufactured Home Community, located about two miles from the F Street property, told CBS4 that Morley was indeed a current resident.
The employee, who did not want to be identified, said park management personnel had inspected Morley's residence from the outside and talked to neighbors about any perceived presence of a number of animals, but no presence had been detected. No sights, no sounds.
"It would be a violation" of park rules if she was keeping livestock or wild animals on the property, the employee said.
Management is also not allowed to go inside the residence without being invited in.
Calls to a phone number registered in Morley's name went unanswered Monday.
So, too, did calls to numbers registered to 81-year-old Mary Stevens, the F Street property owner. Stevens and Morley filing restraining orders against one another earlier this year acrimony accumulated during the eviction process. A search of online court records Monday showed those complaints were both closed within the last week - the last one this morning.
A representative from the City of Greeley was reaching out Monday to the city's code compliance personnel to if any new code violations had occurred at Morley's new residence.
Stay tuned to CBS4 for any updates.
