UPDATE: FRANKLIN, Ind. – Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess reports that Amanda Setser, 28, of Greenwood, the second suspect in the animal cruelty case has surrendered.
UPDATE: FRANKLIN, Ind. – Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess says one of the suspects in the animal cruelty case his department has been working is now incarcerated. Michael Setser, of Greenwood, was taken into custody on Wednesday. Law enforcement is still looking for Amanda Setser, 28, of Franklin.
Original Story: FRANKLIN, Ind. – Animal cruelty charges were filed Tuesday by the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office against Michael S. Setser, 31, of Greenwood, and Amanda Setser, 28, of Franklin. Johnson County Animal Control received information last Wednesday of a deceased canine in a trailer at 4377 W. County Line Rd., in Greenwood. When law enforcement arrived at the address they say they found an emaciated canine in a crate.
The Setsers are divorcing and the wife had left the marital home. Officers say she told them she had returned to the trailer, sometime between January 7 and January 17, to collect her belongings and noticed the dog breathing heavily and it seemed ill. After the divorce filing, the husband also had apparently moved out of the residence. Both parties allegedly failed to provide the canine with food and water. According to the veterinarian who performed the necropsy, the dog died of starvation.
“Crimes like these could easily be avoided if people would just show a little compassion and take their animals to the Johnson County Animal Shelter,” said Chief Deputy Prosecutor Joe Villanueva.
The cruelty to animal charge has a sentencing range up to 365 days, and a fine of up to $5,000.