Donora woman faces 1,376 new charges in cat abuse case
More than 1,000 new charges involving cruelty to animals and neglect were filed Tuesday against a Donora woman who kept a large number of cats in blighted buildings in the Mon Valley.
District Judge Mark Wilson signed a warrant that afternoon for the arrest of Christie Dee Harr, who was already awaiting trial in Washington County Court of Common Pleas on charges of denying a sick cat veterinarian care in June 2018, online court records show.
Investigators enlisted the Humane Society of the United States to help seize more than 200 animals, mostly cats, in late October from a former Roman Catholic church and rectory where Harr lived in Donora, and another property she managed in nearby Monessen.
Harr, 41, was charged Oct. 30 by a humane police officer with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals in the 2018 case, and she has been free since then on $5,000 unsecured bond. She waived those charges to the county courthouse Jan. 29 at a time when she was warned additional charges were pending against her.
She was facing 140 new felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals involving allegations she caused serious bodily injuries or death to her cats. Some of those counts also alleged animal torture, court records show.
In other counts, Harr was accused of providing poor shelter to the animals and denying them veterinarian care, food and water, the records indicate. In all she faces 1,376 new criminal charges.
The animals, which also included chickens, dogs and gerbils, were taken to an undisclosed location where their care has cost the societies hundreds of thousands of dollars. Donora officials reacted that day by condemning the dilapidated former St. Mary church and nearby rectory in the 300 block of Second Street.
At the time of her hearing in January, the societies were still attempting to get Harr to agree to surrender her animals so they could be put up for adoption.
Her attorney, Bruce W. Blissman, could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
The executive director of the Eighty Four-based humane society, Kelly Proudfit, said she couldn’t comment on the case because it was still an active investigation.