# At least she hadn't started killing people yet... (RO) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 24, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487 "2011-02-24T19:29:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/1 "2011-02-24T19:29:27Z")
[Long Island resident faces 2 years](http://www.wtop.com/?nid=209&sid=2284091) for [felony animal abuse and child endangerment](http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/li_mom_yard_was_pet_cemetery_nHDNQf2qwP537bTkceEoaM). Prosecutors claim Sharon McDonough killed numerous kittens and dogs while her daughters were forced to watch, stashing the dead cats in the trash, and burying 42 dead dogs in the backyard of her home in Selden on New York’s Long Island. The dogs were buried because some had identifying microchips implanted in them and McDonough feared being discovered if the carcasses were found in the trash. [Doug McDonough, 21, had moved out and alerted Rescue Ink what was going on in the home.](http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/li_mom_yard_was_pet_cemetery_nHDNQf2qwP537bTkceEoaM) He says the younger children were forced to eat nothing but PB&J and mac & cheese; the TV dinners he bought for them were confiscated. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/2 "2011-02-24T20:24:17Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > He says the younger children were forced to eat nothing but … I was really worried about where this sentence was going for a second. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/3 "2011-02-24T20:26:28Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I was really worried about where this sentence was going for a second. Good, I’m not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/4 "2011-02-24T21:16:11Z")
The pic of the woman in the second link is priceless. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/5 "2011-02-24T21:17:49Z")
Gotta love this part: > [@](#): > > Suffolk County Court Judge C. Randall Hinrichs said he would sentence McDonough on March 28 to a two-year maximum term. McDonough has been held on $100,000 bail since her arrest in December 2009; **the time she has served will count toward her sentence and she is expected to be freed in April or May.** So she’ll be free to start terrorizing humans and animals again soon enough. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/6 "2011-02-24T21:18:55Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The pic of the woman in the second link is priceless. No doubt! Can you say, “It rubs the lotion on its skin…?” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/7 "2011-02-24T21:23:48Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > No doubt! Can you say, “It rubs the lotion on its skin…?” Heh, it makes me wonder if it was specally set up, selected from a large group, or manipulated in some way - or if she just normally looks like a twisted psychopath in a casual, everyday sort of way. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/8 "2011-02-24T21:47:56Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > So she’ll be free to start terrorizing humans and animals again soon enough. One hopes they can tie her to pet stealing and add more years. > [@Malthus](#): > > Heh, it makes me wonder if it was specally set up, selected from a large group, or manipulated in some way - or if she just normally looks like a twisted psychopath in a casual, everyday sort of way. 😃 [Here’s a site with another angle.](http://www.truecrimereport.com/2009/11/sharon_mcdonough_accused_of_to.php) Didn’t use it at first because it’s a little muddled: this supposedly didn’t start until her husband was killed but it says local animals had been disappearing for years. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/9 "2011-02-24T21:51:23Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Heh, it makes me wonder if it was specally set up, selected from a large group, or manipulated in some way - or if she just normally looks like a twisted psychopath in a casual, everyday sort of way. 😃 Hey, Jared Loughner - we’ve got a pen pal for you. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/10 "2011-02-24T21:53:18Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > One hopes they can tie her to pet stealing and add more years. > [Here’s a site with another angle.](http://www.truecrimereport.com/2009/11/sharon_mcdonough_accused_of_to.php) Didn’t use it at first because it’s a little muddled: this supposedly didn’t start until her husband was killed but it says local animals had been disappearing for years. Heh doesn’t even look like the same woman. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/11 "2011-02-24T22:24:17Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Heh doesn’t even look like the same woman. 😃 I don’t understand the picture in the NYpost article. The caption is “MYSTERY: A neighbor who lost Bali andAnnabelle [sic] wonders if they were buried behindthe home of Sharon McDonough (above).” Who the hell are Bali and Annabelle? Doesn’t that caption make it sound like the picture is of the neighbor, not McDonough? Am I stupid? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/12 "2011-02-24T22:28:47Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > Who the hell are Bali and Annabelle? Pets that have gone missing, I assume. > [@](#): > > Doesn’t that caption make it sound like the picture is of the neighbor, not McDonough? Yes, it does. > [@](#): > > Am I stupid? Perhaps, but that’s for another thread. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/13 "2011-02-24T22:36:56Z")
> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#): > > I don’t understand the picture in the NYpost article. The caption is “MYSTERY: A neighbor who lost Bali andAnnabelle [sic] wonders if they were buried behindthe home of Sharon McDonough (above).” > > Who the hell are Bali and Annabelle? Doesn’t that caption make it sound like the picture is of the neighbor, not McDonough? Am I stupid? It certainly would be amusing if the pic of the psycho-looking woman _was_ that of the neighbour whose pets had gone missing … but I took the (above) to refer to the perp. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/14 "2011-02-25T00:30:09Z")
Sounds like a [Sylvia Likens case](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Likens) just waiting to happen. I wonder if most of her paltry sentence was for the animal abuse or the child abuse. And the first link says she’s 44 with six daughters under 13 years old plus at least one son. On the one hand, it’s got to be terrifying to be widowed with half a dozen kids. On the other, that takes a hell of a lot of vileness and energy to torture all those children. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/15 "2011-02-25T04:58:41Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > The pic of the woman in the second link is priceless. “Fire BAD!” I also got tripped up by the caption. Before I figured out that they were pet names, I was trying to figure out what the hell the Indonesian island of Bali had to do with this story. ---
**Author:** ![ricksummon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ricksummon/32/3333_2.png) [@ricksummon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricksummon)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/16 "2011-02-25T07:29:06Z")
[HP Lovecraft](http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Cats_of_Ulthar) knew how to deal with folks like this. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/17 "2011-02-25T08:28:48Z")
> [@Cat\_Fight](#): > > I wonder if most of her paltry sentence was for the animal abuse or the child abuse. How do 13 counts of animal abuse and child endangerment add up to a total of only two years? One count of child endangerment in New York state is “up to” one year… I guess she’s lucky she didn’t do it in California, Illinois, or Texas, where the penalties per count run up to 6, 10 and 20 years, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/18 "2011-02-25T17:05:54Z")
She is sick and needs help. There are drugs that might work. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/19 "2011-02-25T17:31:11Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > She is sick and needs help. There are drugs that might work. I wholeheartedly agree with his statement. My money says she will not get that treatment, nor will the sickness be recognized legally. She will do her 2 years (if that) and be put back on the streets. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487/20 "2011-02-25T19:03:21Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > How do 13 counts of animal abuse and child endangerment add up to a total of only two years? I’m guessing plea bargain. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-least-she-hadnt-started-killing-people-yet-ro/572487.md?page=2)