The animal cruelty case against Christine Abrams — the central Florida woman accused of starving her dog Ella to death by leaving her behind, locked in her crate, when she moved — is far from over. During today’s hearing (Wednesday, July 9), defense attorney Andrew Stine asked the Brevard County judge to withdraw, saying she signed an order involving the case without his knowledge.
Stine earlier tried to have the case thrown out of court based on police procedure, saying the officers who entered Abrams’ house did not have a warrant. Neighbors had called police about two months after Abrams had moved out, after noticing a foul odor coming from the house. Looking through a window, they saw Ella’s dead body still locked in the crate. Abrams later said she left the dog behind because her new roommate did not like pets.
Here was the story filed earlier today by Orlando Sentinel reporter Laurin Sellers:
VIERA — A hearing in Christine Abrams’ animal-cruelty case ended abruptly Wednesday when her attorney asked Brevard County Judge Kelly Jo McKibben to withdraw from the highly publicized case. McKibben postponed the proceedings to give attorney Andrew Stine time to put his request in writing.
It was uncertain when McKibben would respond, or when the hearing on a defense motion to toss out key evidence would resume.
Abrams, 30, is accused of moving out of her Cocoa home late last year and leaving her dog, Ella, to die in a locked crate without food or water. Police found the dead dog in March after neighbors smelled a foul odor. She is charged with two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and could face a year in the county jail and a $5,000 fine if convicted.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Stine said McKibben spoke Tuesday with Brevard Assistant State Attorney Michael Raska and signed an order without the defense attorney’s knowledge. Raska said he contacted the judge about a mislabeled packet of case law he submitted during a previous hearing.
“The defense is trying to play every trick in the book,” said Holly Gann, one of more than 60 animal lovers who packed into the courtroom. “He has no case and he knows it.”
