Tioga Downs Arsonist, Horse Killer Will get to As much as 15 Years Jail
A Pennsylvania man charged with setting a fireplace at Tioga Downs racetrack that killed 30 racehorses and two cats was sentenced to a most of 15 years in jail Friday.
Boyd Fenton is led shackled from the Tioga County Courtroom Home in Owego Friday to start a jail sentence of between seven and 15 years. (WENY Information)
It’s nonetheless unclear precisely why Boyd Fenton, 32, of Athens, Pa., intentionally began the barn fireplace, which additionally injured a coach who tried to rescue the animals. Nonetheless, prosecutors stated Fenton took medicine earlier than the incident on November 9, 2023 and “believed individuals have been chasing him.” The defendant has no recognized connection to the monitor.
Witnesses reported terrified horses kicking and screaming because the flames unfold, in keeping with a New York Instances report. Not one of many horses, which competed in harness races on the racino advanced, survived the hearth.
Psychological Toll
Fenton was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with third-degree arson, third-degree housebreaking, second-degree felony mischief, and second-degree assault.
He was additionally convicted Friday of 30 counts of interference with accidents to sure home animals, and 30 counts of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals.
Boyd appeared within the Tioga County Courtroom Home in Owego, N.Y. carrying all orange with shackles round his ankles and wrists, in keeping with WETM 18 Information.
Additionally packing the courthouse have been quite a few racing business stakeholders, together with many who misplaced horses within the fireplace. Among the horse house owners gave testimony. One, Mindy Findling Repko, had 5 horses that died within the blaze.
She spoke concerning the psychological toll the crime had taken on her. She now has panic assaults when she enters her barn again dwelling in Indiana, she stated, as reported by 18 Information. When it first occurred, she thought she was having a coronary heart assault. Now, her husband’s phrases telling her that her horses have been lifeless play over and over in her head, she added.
‘You Murdered Our Children’
Repko stated that the horses had crammed an enormous hole within the {couples}’ life as a result of they’d by no means had youngsters.
“That’s what you probably did,” she stated, trying instantly at Fenton. “You murdered our children.”
Fenton was given a possibility to talk after Repko’s testimony however selected to stay silent.
The defendant has a prolonged rap sheet in Pennsylvania, together with driving beneath the affect of a managed substance, felony trespassing, felony mischief leading to property harm, and possessing a small quantity of marijuana.
