On Thursday, October 1, 2026, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested 59-year-old Melissa McKinney of Logan Lane in Winter Haven after an investigation by the Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit and Environmental Crimes detectives.
The investigation began earlier in the week when Polk County Animal Control Officers and officials from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection responded to the property regarding diseased and deceased animals, and a reported chemical leak. The DEP contacted PCSO once they arrived at the scene, due to the suspicious nature of the suspect and their observations of dead animals.
When PCSO detectives arrived they found a dead donkey in the yard. The following are excerpts from the affidavits:
Upon walking up to her gate, I could smell a strong odor of a decomposition smell coming from her trash can. I also observed a donkey laying in her yard which appeared to be deceased. Next to the donkey was a plastic patio chair with a clear 1 liter bottle sitting on the chair without a label. Next to the gate was multiple yellow chlorine containers. Where the donkey was laying, visible signs of where the donkey was thrashing in the dirt could be seen. The thrashing signs around the donkey is a clear visible sign of a veterinarian emergency and a sign of severe pain and distress that the donkey was in. The suspect stated to me that the donkey must have just died because it was alive when she went in the house earlier. However, the suspect stated the donkey has been lying in that spot since the weekend and has not been able to get up. The suspect was asked if she contacted a vet, to which she replied, “I haven’t had time”, even though the suspect had time to contact Animal Control and DEP.
DEP conducted testing on the water and air quality but found no evidence of any harmful gas leak or anything else to match the suspect’s allegations.
While walking the property, I observed numerous cats on the property in different conditions. I observed 4 dead cats laying in the suspect’s yard and 3 cats that were extremely lethargic and non-responsive to my presence around them. These cats had labored breathing and appeared to be actively dying. The suspect confirmed that 10-15 other dead cats were in her dumpster and that was the smell coming from it. I observed multiple other cats that appeared to be in good condition and did not appear to be dying. I also observed a pony and two dogs that appeared to not be affected by whatever was happening to the other animals. All of the animals on the property share the yard and have access to the same water sources and food. I observed that only certain select animals appeared to be ill and affected by whatever is affecting these animals.
I also observed multiple containers of antifreeze throughout the yard that appeared to be secured with lids.
The suspect at no time during this interaction requested any medical assistance for her dying animals and only wanted the deceased animals removed. The suspect appeared to have no actual concern for the animals on her property that were in pain, suffering, and dying. The suspect never asked Animal Control or DEP for medical help for her cats or her donkey. The suspect was only interested in the removal of the dead animals.
During the property inspection there were numerous metal/plastic/ceramic containers holding water (green and some live larva), there were piles of solid waste which contained various construction materials, plastic gardening containers, rusted tools, household goods, white goods, vehicle parts, electrical wires, a burn pit within 2 feet of the creek (measured 6’4 wide and over 13′ long), many plastic containers yellow in color made for chlorine, waste tire near the creek holding water, metals, and household trash. The containers above had various metals, rusted tools, various construction materials, and miscellaneous household items. All these items mentioned were being stored in the open, uncovered, and some piles were within 3 feet of the creek bed. There was broken plastic cooler covering the septic tank lid. There were numerous flies and mosquitos concentrated on the property due to the large amount of animal fecal matter throughout the residential property/especially around the residence.
Detectives served a search warrant and removed the following:
Two brown dogs in fair condition;
One pony in fair condition;
Two adult cats in extremely poor condition, that later died;
Three kittens in extremely poor condition, that later died;
Four deceased cats;
The deceased donkey.
The deceased animals will have necropsies to determine their causes of death, and more charges are pending the outcome of that portion of the investigation.
McKinney was taken into custody and charged with three counts felony animal cruelty (F3), two counts creating/maintaining a nuisance injurious to health (M2), three counts operating unpermitted solid waste site (M1), and two counts unauthorized possession of dairy cases.
“These poor animals likely could have been saved had this suspect only called someone for help. Now she’s facing serious felonies. Hopefully the living animals we seized can be rehabilitated and eventually adopted out to loving families.” –Grady Judd, Sheriff