The Long Island mother accused of torturing and killing cats and dogs and forcing her children to take part in the abuse might plead not guilty by reason of insanity. After getting hit with additional felony charges of animal cruelty and child endangerment yesterday, the lawyer representing Selden resident Sharon McDonough said he is "considering an insanity defense" for his client, who so far has pleaded not guilty, according to 1010WINS. Investigators uncovered the remains of 42 animals in her backyard after her son alerted authorities, claiming his mother "would buy the dog, treat it like it was the greatest dog in the world for a few days, then they would sit in the cage until she decided to kill them." more ›

The Long Island woman accused of torturing at least 42 cats and dogs and burying them in her backyard has been indicted on four additional felony counts of animal cruelty — as well as dozens of counts of child endangerment for allegedly forcing her kids to take part in the abuse. Sharon McDonough, 43, is expected to be arraigned on the new charges on Thursday. She has already been indicted on felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, and misdemeanor charges of torturing and injuring animals and endangering the welfare of a child. Her attorney told Newsday that "she continues to stand by her not guilty plea." The Post reports that McDonough remains in jail with bail set at $100,000. McDonough's son has said she ran a "concentration camp for the animals." more ›

The Long Island woman suspected of forcing her children to help kill 20 dogs and bury them in her backyard lost custody of her kids yesterday. A family court judge ordered that Sharon McDonough's children be turned over to foster care or to the suspect's 21-year-old son, Douglas McDonough, who first alerted the anti-animal-abuse TV show "Rescue Ink" of the "concentration camp" for animals. more ›

The cast of an animal rescue show co-opted an SPCA press conference yesterday and accused the agency of mishandling the case of a Long Island woman suspected of torturing and killing 20 dogs and burying them in her backyard. Members of the group Rescue Ink took over the media event and alleged that the Suffolk County SPCA had ignored calls for help from the children of suspect Sharon McDonough — who allegedly forced her kids to take part in her "concentration camp" for dogs. more ›

The Long Island woman suspected of torturing and killing about 20 dogs before burying them in her backyard forced her children to take part in her animal "concentration camp," according to her son. "It was a concentration camp for the animals," Doug McDonough, the eldest of suspect Sharon McDonough's seven children, told WCBS. "My sisters and me, we got the end of it, too." Doug — who tipped off the animal rescue TV show Rescue Ink, which in turn alerted the Suffolk County SPCA — told the Post that the abuse would begin shortly after his 43-year-old mother brought a pet into her Selden home. "She would buy the dog, treat it like it was the greatest dog in the world for a few days, then they would sit in the cage until she decided to kill them. It was a power trip." more ›

A Long Island woman is suspected of torturing and killing as many as 20 cats and dogs — some of them belonging to her neighbors — before burying them behind her home. Animal control investigators unearthed the "gruesome pet cemetery" on Saturday behind 43-year-old Sharon McDonough's Suffolk County house after discovering five malnourished dogs kept in cramped cages inside the residence. According to WPIX, "McDonough frequently involved her children in the animal killings by asking them to hold pets down as she tortured them." Neighbors whose pets have gone missing showed up at McDonough's home hoping to identify their animals. "A couple of people have lost pets," neighbor Angelo Zotto, 70, told the Daily News. "They were up here today with pictures of their pets showing them to the SPCA, wondering if theirs had been found in the backyard." more ›