A Pleasant Hill woman is facing up to a year in jail after several malnourished horses were found in rural Johnson County.
Jessica R. Brasel, 27, was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor animal abuse.
According to court documents, deputies were called to a property off 131 Highway in Odessa, Missouri in late March by an investigator for the Humane Society of Missouri.
The investigator told deputies she received information that there were several horses on the property that were severely malnourished.
Deputies found two horses on the property in separate stables with no food and little water. Court documents say the horses had fecal matter in their teeth, indicating they had been eating their own feces for nourishment.
Deputies later reached out to the horses’ owner, Brasel, who told them she had not seen the horses for about three weeks.
Brasel voluntarily signed over custody of the horses to the Humane Society of Missouri.
Court documents say one of the horses had to be euthanized about a month later due to malnourishment.
Brasel made her first appearance in court Wednesday and entered a plea of not guilty. If convicted, she faces up to one year in prison and up to $1,000 in fines.
