Felony charge dropped against horse abuse suspect; others remain

McHenry County prosecutors Thursday dismissed a felony animal cruelty charge against a Woodstock-area woman accused of letting one of her horses starve to death, but will press forward with six misdemeanor charges alleging abuse of other horses.

State's Attorney Louis Bianchi said he dropped the charge after determining prosecutors could not prove Jeannine Lawler-Benz intended to provide the deceased horse, named Hyline "Billy" Royal, with an inadequate amount of food to survive.

"We have some new information that confirms negligence on her part, but we could not prove she was intentionally negligent to kill the horse," Bianchi said.

Lawler-Benz, 43, of the 600 block of Rose Farm Road, still faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine if found guilty of the remaining charges.

The allegations stem from an investigation into claims 16 horses were mistreated and malnourished at two Woodstock-area farms. County authorities seized the animals after Lawler-Benz's Jan. 22 arrest, and they now are being cared for at an undisclosed farm.

Lawler-Benz declined to comment after a court appearance Thursday. But her former husband, who owns one of the properties were she kept the horses, came to her defense.

"She would never, ever let an animal get hurt," Brett Benz said. "And I would never allow it to happen on my property. This whole thing was blown out of proportion."

Benz said that all but one of the horses seized from the properties has passed a physical conducted by McHenry County Animal Control. Bianchi declined to comment on that claim, citing the pending charges.

Lawler-Benz, who is free on bond, is scheduled to return to court Feb. 19 on the remaining charges.