Woman, 82, convicted of cruelty in cat-hoarding
An 82-year-old woman was convicted of animal cruelty after police found 14 cats in her squalid, flea-infested house - the childhood home of the actress Grace Kelly - in East Falls.
An 82-year-old woman was convicted of animal cruelty after police found 14 cats in her squalid, flea-infested house - the childhood home of the actress Grace Kelly - in East Falls.
Marjorie Bamont was found guilty in absentia of 16 counts of animal cruelty and ordered to pay $10,000 restitution to the Pennsylvania SPCA at a hearing Wednesday before Municipal Court Judge Judge Frank T. Brady. When Bamont failed to appear in court, the judge proceeded in her absence, as court rules allow.
She was also fined $800 ($50 for each count) and prohibited from owning or controlling any animals for four years.
On Oct. 31., agents from the PSPCA retrieved 14 live cats and a dead one from her three-story home at Henry Avenue and Coulter Street.
Agents said the home was filthy and full of fleas.
George Bengal, head of law enforcement for the PSPCA, said at the time that there had been complaints about the house for several years, but that Baumont would never allow agents into the home.
The day before the seizure, an agent responding to a complaint saw a dead cat in the foyer, Bengal said. That cleared the way for agents to search the home.
As agents were searching the home, Baumont drove up in an SUV. The agents also seized a dog that was inside the vehicle, officials said.
Police later took Baumont to Albert Einstein Medical Center for a psychiatric examination.