MITCHELL – A Mitchell man is facing 69 charges of animal neglect and 29 charges of failing to dispose of a dead animal.
Lawrence County Police Department animal control officer Chad Hillenburg arrested 43-year-old Kyle Hall, after he began an investigation on January 3, 2023, following a report of cattle repeatedly getting out and several dead cows laying in a field at 1066 Rariden Hill Road in Mitchell.
When Hillenbrug arrived at the farm he noticed five dead cows laying in a feedlot.
The feedlot was extremely muddy with two partially eaten hay bales located in standing water.
Officer Hillenburg spoke with a female inside the home. She told the officer the cattle belonged to Kyle Hall and she first noticed the dead cattle on Thursday, December 22, 2022.
She claimed she called Hall about the dead cattle and informed him that people were stopping and inquiring about the dead cattle. Hall told her he would bury the animals, but didn’t give her a time frame on when that would be done.
While he was speaking to the woman, two of the farmhands pulled into the driveway. One of the farmhands told police, two of the cows died due to the cold weather and were pulled from the pond on Christmas day.
Kyle Hall then arrived at the farm and told the officer he had not buried the cattle because he was awaiting results from tissue samples of the cattle that he had sent to a veterinarian. Hall would not provide Officer Hillenburg with that veterinarian’s information.
Hall did permit Officer Hillenburg to search the farm. Officer Hillenburg found a total of eight dead cows.
Officer Hillenburg spoke to neighbors who told him the cattle began dying on December 21, 2022. The neighbor had kept a record of when the cattle died:
- One cow died on December 21, 2022
- Three cows died on December 25, 2022
- Three cows died on December 28, or December 29, 2022
- On January 1, 2023, another cow died.
On January 1, 2023, at 12:38 p.m. Dr. Jodi Lovejoy with the Indiana Board of Animal Health arrived at the property to examine the animals and found the animals underweight. The cattle’s low body condition was inconsistent with the amount of feed Hall was reportedly feeding them. Some of the live cattle on the property were considered to be in thin and emaciated body conditions. Dr. Lovejoy also pointed out the dangerous conditions of the only water source for the animals – the pond.
Hall did share that he had another farm with 70,000 Turkeys, 50 sheep, and an additional 100 steers located on Coxton Road.
Hall was informed that state law requires a dead animal to be buried within 24 hours. Hall buried the carcass and sent photos of the grave to Officer Hillenburg on January 9, 2023.
On January 9, 2023, Officer Hillenburg subpoenaed veterinary medical records from Farmstead Veterinary Services, Dr. Ken Kimmick. He learned Dr. Kimmick visited the site at 1066 Rariden Hill Road and found the cattle underweight and suffering from roundworm.
The animals were also not receiving adequate amounts of feed to maintain nourishment. Deceased animals were found in the only drinking water available to the herd.
In Dr. Lovejoy’s report “For the cows to have reached the level of malnutrition they are currently experiencing, they have not been receiving adequate energy intake for weeks to months.”
Officer Hillenburg returned to the property on May 5, 2023, to check on the cattle. He also spoke to the neighbor who said he told Hall about a cow being found on March 15, 2023, stuck in the eroding pond bank.
The cow remained stuck until the neighbor freed the animal. He then informed Hall, “I have shoveled on both sides of the cow, it is no longer jammed in between banks. Just need someone
to pull it out or to its feet.”
On March 16 Hall came late in the afternoon and pulled the cow from the pond bank up into the grass and left it. The cow died. Hall was told on January 1, 2023, he needed to correct the steeply eroded bank of the pond. He failed to do so.
On May 7, 2023, Officer Hillenburg again found several cattle with below-normal body condition. Again a search warrant was issued for the property and Dr. Lovejoy returned to evaluate the animals.
They found the following on the property
- A total of 32 living cattle
- 1 bull (adult male)
- 19 cows (adult females)
- 12 calves (juvenile cattle)
One of the living cows on the property was in very poor condition. She could no longer stand. Dr. Lovejoy suggested that the cow needed to be euthanized due to her current health condition. The cows, calves, and bull were found emaciated and losing their hair.
Investigator also found unburied carcasses on the property. Several carcasses had been pushed into the
sinkhole and not properly disposed of others were found in different locations on the property. At least 16 carcasses were located.
On May 18, 2023, at approximately 11:15 a.m. a search warrant was executed at Hall’s farm on Coxton Road. Dr. Lovejoy found the cattle, sheep, and horses underweight and in poor health, along with four dogs in poor health. There was only decomposing moldy hay and no water available to the horses. Three dead cats were found in the barn.
The information was forwarded to the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office and a warrant was issued for Hall’s arrest.
