Des Plaines man charged after dead animals found in mobile home

A Des Plaines-area man has been charged with 53 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty after abandoning a mobile home with dozens of live and dead cats inside, Cook County sheriff's police said Friday.

David Heim, 56, formerly of the 7500 block of Elmhurst Road, was charged Thursday of animal cruelty after he turned himself in to police on Aug. 18.

Heim said he was aware detectives had been searching for him since he and his roommate abandoned their mobile home after threats of eviction last month.

According to a news release Friday, a Cook County sheriff's police officer responded to a call from a neighbor of the mobile home about an "animal problem." The caller told police the owner of the home left about two days earlier and there were pets still in the residence.

When police arrived, there was a strong smell of ammonia coming from the trailer home, and officers observed cats at the windows, roaming around the yard and underneath the mobile home, per the release.

When the investigating officer entered the mobile home, he discovered roughly 50 cats, including newborn kittens, inside every room of the home, police said.

Cats were also found within the walls and ceiling of the residence, along with the rotting carcasses of dead felines. Feces and urine were everywhere, and no food or water had been provided for any of the animals, police said.

The officer was able to secure 28 cats and one rabbit into animal crates. A snake also was removed from the house, along with a number of dead turtles, police said.

The animals were taken to the no-kill Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge, where two of the rescued cats later died.

Heim told police that he brought 25 cats with him when he moved into the mobile home two years ago but did not have the money to care for them, police said. He said the cats multiplied over the years to the point where the mobile home became infested with feces and fleas, police said. Heim said he and his roommate slept outside at night to get away from the smell, police said. After his landlord threatened eviction, Heim and his roommate abandoned the pets and the mobile home on July 27, police said.

Sheriff's officials continue to investigate. Heim is due court Sept. 3 in Rolling Meadows.

The shelter will not be able to adopt out the rescued cats for a couple of weeks, police said.

• Daily Herald staff writer Madhu Krishnamurthy contributed to this report.