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PLAINS TWP. — Humane officers with the SPCA of Luzerne County charged Susann Veronica Cheslick with placing 28 newborn kittens in a freezer.

The corpses of the kittens were found in an apartment on South River Street, Plains Township, where Cheslick formerly resided by an animal rescue group rounding up live cats on April 6.

Cheslick, of Hughes Street, Swoyersville, was arraigned by District Judge Brian Tupper in Kingston Township on 27 felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty causing death, 27 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals, 28 summary counts of cruelty to animals, a single misdemeanor count of neglect of animals and 32 summary counts of neglect of animals. Cheslick was released on $10,000 unsecured bail.

According to the criminal complaint:

An official with County Animal Response Team was given permission to remove more than 30 cats from an apartment at 267 S. River St., where Cheslick resided. At the time, Cheslick was in a hospital and the property owner had no knowledge when she was going to be released.

The number of cats were living in deplorable conditions and the odor of urine and feces was permeating throughout the building, the complaint says.

Many cats were removed by several animal rescue cats while many others were seen by a veterinarian.

Several days after the cats were removed, the official with County Animal Response Team contacted humane officers regarding deceased cats in a freezer inside Cheslick’s former apartment.

Dr. Sherrie Kinsella, a veterinarian at the SPCA, determined 28 deceased cats were one-to-two days old when they were placed in the freezer, the complaint says.

Several cats still had umbilical cords attached but no placentas.

Noses and mouths on the kittens were pink indicating blood flow to the oral cavity was normal prior to being placed in the freezer, according to the complaint.

Humane officers in the complaint say kittens were placed in the freezer at various times while alive resulting in their deaths.