Witnesses testify in Carroll Co. animal cruelty case

CARROLL COUNTY, Tenn. — Tara Neutzler and Donald Schoenthal were in court Monday facing almost 300 charges of animal cruelty counts as well as two counts of child abuse-neglect-endangerment.
One of the witnesses in the case, Deputy Chris Adams, says he was told about the animals by a concerned citizen.

“(They) said there was a dead cat in a bag that was outside the garage, he told me about a dead duck in a cage, and then he said next to the barn was a purple tote with liquefied bunnies in it,” Deputy Adams said.

The District Attorney read through every charge Neutzler and Schoenthal are facing, having Deputy Adams testify about the condition of each animal.

This alone took two and a half hours, so the judge called for a break before continuing with witnesses.

The animals were seized from the home back in April.

“I spoke with Kimmery Zach and Scotlund who run Animal Rescue Corps, and made arrangements to meet with the Sunday morning before I executed the search warrant,” Deputy Adams said.

Witnesses with Animal Rescue Corps were also there to testify in the case.