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Mass. woman accused of stabbing, killing sheep found in ‘deplorable’ barn conditions
Police said it was clear the sheep had been neglected “for a long period of time,” citing accumulated manure, a lack of food or water, and the presence of 15 dead sheep.
A Cape Cod woman is facing numerous animal cruelty charges after she allegedly stabbed and killed several of her sheep and left others dead and decaying in “deplorable” barn conditions, according to police.
Meredith Viprino, 42, pleaded not guilty to 15 counts of animal cruelty Wednesday in Orleans District Court and was released on $500 bail with orders not to possess any animals while her case is pending. Her lawyer was not immediately available for comment Friday morning.
Harwich police said officers responded to Viprino’s home on Chatham Road Tuesday after receiving a complaint about neglected and dead sheep. When an animal control officer and a detective arrived to investigate, Viprino allegedly told them she had killed the remaining sheep that morning by stabbing the animals in the throat, per a police narrative filed in court.
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Police reportedly found one sheep mortally wounded but still alive in the barn, though a veterinarian ultimately euthanized the animal due to its dire condition. All told, there were five sheep with evidence of neck wounds and a total of 15 dead sheep, according to the police narrative.
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Some of the dead sheep were too badly decomposed to determine whether they also died of neck injuries, police said. There was animal manure about four to eight inches deep in each stall containing dead sheep, according to the report.
“It was very obvious the sheep had been neglected for a long period of time based on the amount of deceased sheep present, the amount of accumulated manure, badly decayed bodies of most of the sheep and there was no food or water present,” police wrote, describing the conditions as “deplorable.”
“There was no indication that the animals had been cared for,” police added.
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According to the report, the animal control officer had previously been out to the barn for an inspection in December 2023 and found the sheep healthy, their stalls clean and stocked with hay and fresh water.
Viprino’s husband, Barry, purchased the Chatham Road property in 2016, per Harwich records. An article in the Cape Cod Times the following year highlighted the couple’s growing herd, which at the time included pigs, goats, chickens, horses, calves, and koi fish.
Barry Viprino was indicted last March on 46 criminal charges, including numerous counts of rape, indecent assault and battery, and weapons-related offenses, among others. In a press release at the time, the Barnstable County District Attorney’s Office said the charges stemmed from alleged abuse reported by seven separate victims on various dates in 2023.
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