PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A woman has been charged with murder and two others face charges after a man was found dead and 45 dogs and cats were neglected inside a filthy Pittsfield Township home, officials said.
The discoveries were made at 11:18 p.m. Aug. 27, 2020, at a home in the 7900 block of Crane Road in Pittsfield Township, according to police.
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Officers said they were called to the home on a death investigation and found Andrew Nelson, 76, had passed away.
While inside, authorities said they noticed several dogs and cats, fecal matter scattered throughout and possible flooding in the basement.
The Huron Valley Humane Society investigated for possible animal abuse and recovered 45 dogs and cats during a search warrant, officials said. The animals were living in neglected conditions, according to authorities.
Nelson underwent an autopsy at the Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s Office, and officials determined he had also been neglected. His death was ruled a homicide, police said.
In July 2021, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office authorized charges against Nelson’s primary caregiver and two other residents of the home.
Karen Wibbeler-Nelson, of Pittsfield Township, has been charged with open murder, second-degree vulnerable adult abuse, abandoning/cruelty to 10 or more animals and fourth-degree child abuse.
She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for the open murder charge, four years in prison apiece for the adult abuse and animal cruelty charges and up to one year in jail for the child abuse charge, officials said.
Robert Nelson, of Pittsfield Township, has been charged with second-degree vulnerable adult abuse, abandoning/cruelty to 10 or more animals and fourth-degree child abuse.
John Michael Stewart, of Pittsfield Township, has been charged with abandoning/cruelty to four to 10 animals. That charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
Wibbeler-Nelson, Nelson and Stewart have all been arraigned and await further court proceedings.
