‘I’m not a monster.’ Granville woman speaks up after dozens of her horses were seized

Only on 13: A Washington County woman is telling her side of the story after dozens of her horses were seized in September.

Since then, Wendy Murphy said she’s been called a “monster.”

Her attorney, Tucker Stanclift, said he questions the validity of how all the pieces of the puzzle came together to take away Murphy’s horses. He said it seems Murphy never got a fighting chance.

Murphy’s 31 horses are now on a farm in Fort Ann. They look happy and healthy, but that wasn’t always the case.

“I’m not a monster. I’ve never ever had this happen. I don’t even know how this happened,” Murphy said.

State police seized the horses back in September, and Murphy was charged with 31 counts of overdriving, torturing, and injuring animals.

However, Murphy said she rescued the horses from kill farms; nearly starved to death. Murphy said she was slowly bringing them back to health.

“I’m not making any money off it. I just do it because I wanted to help the animals.”

Murphy’s attorney, Tucker Stanclift, questions why the horses were taken away from her in September.

“The day the animals were seized was but a snapshot of time,” she said.

Stanclift said they will submit motions to challenge the legality of the search warrant from that day, “and more particularly the probable cause, or the underlying credibility provided to the court for the issuance of the warrant.”

Murphy showed NewsChannel 13 her license and inspection records that were done in July, just months before the animals were removed from the property.

She said she just wants her horses back.

“It’s just, I wanted you to know it’s not just me. It’s my grandkids, my neighbor kids – we all loved the horses.”

The civil case has wrapped up, but the criminal case is ongoing. Murphy is due back in court in February.