A Windham woman faces charges in connection with a dog that was found in a crate outside an abandoned home in Mansfield in October weeks after authorities believe it was starved and suffered a “long slow” death.
Mariah Reeves, 28, has been charged with cruelty to animals, operating a vehicle under suspension, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and operating without insurance, according to Connecticut State Police.
The charges stem from an investigation that was launched when police responded to the area of the Mansfield Drive-In on Route 32 on Oct. 23 just before 10:20 a.m. on the report of a dead dog being found in a crate, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. A trooper noted in the warrant that he could immediately smell “rotting flesh” when he pulled over and got out of his cruiser.
An animal crate in the shoulder of the road outside an abandoned home was found to contain a tan and white female dog that was dead, the arrest warrant affidavit said. A trooper found blood and fur outside and in the crate. The animal’s fur and skin appeared to be removed from its front legs, and its belly was black with a maggot infestation, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
The person who notified police said he was driving on Route 32 when he had to pull over. When he got out of his car, he said he could smell something rotting before he spotted the crate and found the dead dog, the arrest warrant affidavit said.
A Mansfield Animal Control Officer who assisted with the investigation found that the dog had a microchip implanted in her, the arrest warrant affidavit said. Authorities used the contact information in the chip to contact the dog’s owner.
The woman was crying when she spoke to police and told a trooper she had named the dog “Girl” before rehoming her in April, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. She said the animal was taken in by Reeves, state police wrote.
The woman said she adopted Girl, a boxer and husky mix, in May 2023, the arrest warrant affidavit said. She described her as an amazing, gentle dog who was considered part of her family.
The animal had a litter of puppies in November 2024 and, ever since then, she became a “little too overprotective” over the owner, the arrest warrant affidavit said. She said she made the difficult decision to find Girl a new home. She told police she gave the animal to Reeves, who seemed to get along very well with the animal and would often joke that she wanted to adopt her, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
“She promised me she would love her and keep her safe,” the original owner wrote in a statement to police.
The woman said she gave Reeves the $150 pet fee for her apartment building and sent her about $800 over the summer to help cover expenses for the dog, the arrest warrant affidavit said. She said she offered to take the dog back after finding out that she had damaged something in Reeves’ apartment and hearing that she may have bitten someone. She said Reeves never responded to her.
The owner told police Reeves later sent her a photo of Girl in July and that she was under the impression that the animal was doing fine at that point, the arrest warrant affidavit said. The last contact she had with Reeves was when she allegedly sent a text message to the woman in October asking for money, the arrest warrant affidavit said.
After the dog was found dead, the owner said she spoke to two people connected to Reeves who allegedly said they had witnessed Reeves neglecting the animal, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. They said they tried to convince her to find the dog another home but she refused, the arrest warrant affidavit said.
State police spoke to someone who claimed to know Reeves who said she would sometimes go away for days at a time and leave the animal in her crate, the warrant affidavit said. She also alleged that she had to break into the apartment at one point just to make sure the dog had food and water while Reeves was off on “another bender,” the warrant affidavit said.
Another individual who claimed to know Reeves said she went to her apartment at some point over the summer and allegedly saw that the dog was in a crate that was filled with feces and urine, according to the warrant affidavit.
A trooper found that Reeves was wanted by state police for fraud and larceny allegations, the arrest warrant affidavit said. She was also wanted in Rhode Island for similar accusations, state police said.
A trooper went to her apartment on Roanoak Avenue the next morning and knocked on the door, but no one answered, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. The trooper reported smelling the same rotting odor that was near the abandoned dog.
Two people in the building spoke to the trooper and said the smell had started about two weeks prior, the arrest warrant affidavit said. They also said it appeared to be coming from the apartment where Reeves resided, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
State police were able to make contact with Reeves over the phone, when she told them she had renamed the dog Ella and that she had given her to a friend on Oct. 16, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. When told that the dog had been found dead, a trooper alleged that Reeves appeared to show no emotion and said she had nothing to do with it, the arrest warrant affidavit said.
State police also spoke to the property manager of the apartment building where Reeves resided who said she went to her apartment on Oct. 20 in response to a complaint about the smell in the building, the arrest warrant affidavit said. Fearing Reeves may have been dead inside, the manager entered the unit with a maintenance worker and found Reeves inside, state police wrote.
They immediately left because Reeves was allegedly undressed. The manager said she did not get a chance to look around and did not see a dead dog when she was in the unit, the arrest warrant affidavit said
Multiple troopers went to the apartment on Oct. 25 and tried making contact with Reeves, the warrant affidavit said. She was not home but told police she was on her way there.
When Reeves arrived at the apartment building, troopers boxed in her vehicle, a 2011 Ford Focus, the warrant affidavit said. Troopers found that its registration had expired and there was no proof of insurance inside, state police wrote. They also found that Reeves’ driver’s license was suspended.
She was taken into custody in connection with the fraud warrant out for her arrest. State police said Reeves was given multiple chances to show them proof that she had found a new home for the dog, but she was not cooperative, according to the warrant affidavit.
A necropsy performed on Girl found that she weighed 23 pounds and had been dead for about two weeks when she was found, the warrant affidavit said. Veterinarian records showed that the dog weighed nearly 60 pounds in April when it was vaccinated for rabies. The necropsy also determined that she had starved to death and suffered a “long slow death,” state police wrote.
Reeves was charged last Friday after police obtained a warrant for her arrest. She was held on a $10,000 bond and was expected to face a judge on Monday.