MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — A western Michigan woman who pleaded no contest to charges that she starved three horses to death has been sentenced to two months in jail.
A Muskegon County judge also sentenced 43-year-old Bobbi Jo VanKoevering on Friday to three years of probation, during which time she cannot keep any animals where she lives. The Ravenna woman had pleaded no contest last month to felony animal abandonment/cruelty.
VanKoevering was charged in April after authorities found three dead horses on her property.
Assistant Prosecutor Katherine Matlock told the court authorities also found two emaciated horses and a calf there that “quite frankly were on the brink of death” before they were rescued.
Defense attorney Paula Mathes says VanKoevering is taking responsibility and has gotten help for “physical and psychological issues.”
