Deaths of Yorktown Couple Found with Cats Ruled Accidental
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The Westchester Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled the deaths of a man and woman found in a dilapidated Yorktown home in January with about 150 cats living in filthy conditions were accidental.
Reportedly, Mary McGuinness, 58, and Patrick Hickey, 57, died of acute mixed drug intoxication of fentanyl and cocaine. Officials determined they had both been deceased for about three days before being discovered by Yorktown Police in a residence at 149 Cordial Rd. on Jan. 30.
Police were asked by a family member to do a welfare check Jan. 30 at about 9 p.m. Police Chief Robert Noble said at the time officers were able to break into the small residence, where two deceased bodies were located.
Noble said police were unable to investigate further at the time due to the sheer volume of cats that were seen in every room of the home, including the ceilings and walls.
On the morning of Jan. 31, members of the SPCA Westchester rescue team responded and removed the cats, all Abyssinian mixes, suffering from upper respiratory, eye and skin infections, malnutrition, dehydration, and other severe injuries that required immediate medical attention.
SPCA Westchester Executive Director Shannon Laukhuf said all of the cats were starving and had likely not eaten for many days. Some cats were deceased.
“This is the largest hoarding case SPCA Westchester has ever undertaken,” Laukhuf said.
The SPCA spent about $40,000 to treat the cats. Many of the cats have been adopted.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
