WILMINGTON — A month after District Court Judge Sandra Ray promised no further continuances in a case involving the alleged serious mistreatment of horses on a Wilmington farm, she did just that Thursday morning.
According to the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office (NHCSO), eight horses were removed from the farm, owned by the Woody family, last summer due to severe malnutrition. One of the rescued horses died en route to a Wilmington veterinary hospital while another had to be euthanized several months later at a horse rescue ranch in Pender County due to lasting ill effects of its mistreatment.
RELATED: Sixth delay granted for New Hanover horse abuse case, judge says it’ll be the last
Assistant District Attorney Rosetta Royster, who has been handling the case for the state, objected to Judge Ray’s motion to allow a seventh continuance, arguing that the state was prepared to move forward with witnesses who were on stand-by, ready to come to the courtroom at a moment’s notice.
“This is a damn circus at this point,” Jennifer Witkowski, a horse advocate in Pender County who has attended many of the hearings, said in the hallway outside Courtroom 200 on Thursday morning.
She said one of the witnesses, veterinarian Dr. Ginger Reagan of Reagan Equine, had blocked off her schedule on Thursday and was prepared to arrive at the courtroom within 15 minutes (the seven surviving horses rescued from the Woody farm, located off Greenville Loop Road, originally went to Reagan Equine until they were medically stabilized).
Sarah Woody, the daughter of the family and “an accomplished horsewoman,” according to Witkowski, had also worked for Reagan Equine and was enrolled at Cape Fear Community College’s veterinary technician program. Witkowski said the one horse discovered to be in a healthy condition last July was Sarah Woody’s show horse. The Woodys have not responded to requests for comment on this issue.
Last August — weeks after a malnourished horse was seen eating on the side of Greenville Loop Road just beyond the fence line of the Woody property, leading an officer of the New Hanover County Animal Control to discover one horse stuck in a mud pit and seven others severely malnourished — Reagan Equine issued the following statement to Port City Daily: “We are personally shocked and outraged at the situation regarding the starved horses from New Hanover County.”
Continued, again
While Judge Ray had previously said there would be no further continuances, she ultimately scheduled the next appearance for March 30.
“If you do not show up, we will issue a warrant for your arrest,” she told the defendants. “There are not going to be any more games or any more continuances.”
She also forced the Woodys to sign a waiver due to the frequent number of times their attorneys have been removed from the case.
On Thursday, the reason for a continuance was because two of the Woodys — Robert Woody, Jr. and his wife Judy Woody — had hired a new attorney who requested more time to prepare himself for the case. Merritt Wagoner was at least the third attorney representing the Woodys since their first court appearance last August.
During their previous court appearance on February 13, Judge Ray told the Woodys, “[A hearing] won’t be continued next time,” after they said they didn’t have counsel in place. They were assigned a public defender, Brittany Parish, who withdrew shortly after. Wagoner filed a notice of appearance to represent the Woodys on February 21.
Sarah Woody is still represented by local attorney Caroline McEachern.
Courtney Last, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, confirmed after the hearing that the prosecutor was prepared to call witnesses on stand-by and objected to Ray’s motion to continue the case again.
“We were prepared to move forward,” Last said. “The defense made a motion to continue, and the judge allowed it. It was out of our control.”
A long process
Eight of a dozen total horses on the farm were originally rescued last July. Three of the more stable horses were then adopted by a Reagan employee named Jessie Malpass, while the other four were sent to the Penderosa Rescue and Sanctuary and Horton’s Rehab Ranch in Pender County, according to Witkowski. One, named Brutus, had to be euthanized several months ago, unable to recover from laminitis of the hoof, while the others have since recovered and were adopted.
The case has dragged on for various reasons. In December, the defense attorney for Robert and Judy Woody had “developed a conflict and need[ed] to get out of the case,” according to Samantha Dooies, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office.
The attorney, Addison Palanza, gave a brief comment after withdrawing his representation of the elder Woodys.
“There are no winners in cases like this,” Palanza said at the time. “It’s tragic.”
During the initial August 28 court date, a delay was requested so the defendants could retain counsel. In September the court delayed a hearing again for administrative reasons, and at a November 20 appearance, it was delayed because the court was “awaiting [an] invoice from animal services,” according to Dooies.
Other continuances were granted when the elder Woodys failed to bring counsel. A full list of the court appearances are as follows:
- August 28, 2019 (original court date)
- September 11, 2019
- October 16, 2019
- November 20, 2019
- December 11, 2019
- February 13, 2020 (Judge Ray promised no more delays)
- March 12, 2020 (Judge Ray delayed until March 30)
Get caught up
Port City Daily has covered the case since last July, starting with the New Hanover Sheriff’s Office initially declining to press charges. Get caught up with the developments since then, below:
August 16: After month-long investigation, Wilmington family charged with animal cruelty after horse rescue
December 12: Ongoing court delays frustrate horse advocates in New Hanover animal abuse case
February 13: Sixth delay granted for New Hanover horse abuse case, judge says it’ll be the last
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