Couple accused of child abuse, animal cruelty

SALISBURY, N.C. — A Salisbury couple is in jail Monday facing child abuse and animal cruelty charges.

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The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office arrested Justin Lee Smith and Madison Daniel Clontz after finding dozens of animals emaciated and in poor condition.

They found one dead dog and a dead goat on the Salisbury property on Morlan Park Road.

Rowan County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Patrick Shmeltzer said the investigation started when a lost dog was turned into the animal shelter earlier this month.

“This by far, the amount of animals and the condition these animals were in, was atrocious,” Shmeltzer said.

A Facebook post on Oct. 21 showed an under-nourished dog, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office stated in a news release.

A rescue group brought the dog to the Rowan County Animal Shelter for a check-up the next day. The veterinarian said the dog was in a state of starvation and had been microchipped. The dog was registered to the home on Morlan Park Road.

“When they adopted the dog out, it weighed 73 pounds and when they got it back it weighed 35 pounds,” Shmeltzer said.

Authorities served a search warrant at the home on Oct. 26.

The evidence allowed them to search the property on Morlan Park Road with rusted cages, baby pools and a sign, which read “Beware of dog.”

Deputies got there and found 45 animals including dogs, pigs, chickens, goats, and more. Some were dead and others were alive but living in deplorable conditions.

“I’ve never seen a pig that you could see its hip bones, its backbone and it was staggering due to lack of nourishment,” Schmeltzer said.

The suspects were charged with 45 counts of felony animal cruelty and three counts of misdemeanor child abuse.

The child abuse charges stemmed from poor living conditions inside the home. There were three children living there.

The animals that died were sent off for autopsies. The couple could face more charges if the animals died from starvation.

Sheriff J. Travis Allen said it’s one of the worst cases he has seen in 28 years.

On Tuesday, Clontz and Smith were each charged with one count of felony kill animal by starvation. The charges were brought after an autopsy was conducted on a dog that showed it died of starvation.

They’re scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

VIDEO: Man arrested after dead, starving animals found on North Carolina property