- Florida, USA -
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office arrested 29-year-old NICOLE FAITH PERKINS and her husband 29-year-old CORY SCOTT PERKINS (both pictured).
According to the affidavit provided to Voice For Us, on September 23, 2024, deputies responded to 15115 SE 180st Street in Weirsdale to investigate an anonymous complaint regarding two horses on the property who were being neglected.
Upon arrival, one of the deputies recognized the property as he had been there on March 20, 2024, when he responded in reference to a tip about two neglected horses. On that occasion, an Animal Control Officer was handling the investigation.
During the September visit, deputies found two horses who were “significantly underweight”, stated the affidavit.
The affidavit identified the horses as a 28-year-old mare named Layla, and a 21-year-old stallion named Nitro.
Layla’s bony structure was easily visible, with little to no fat present throughout her entire body. Layla’s hooves also required farrier care as they were overgrown and she had two open wounds.
Nitro was found with all his ribs, hip bones, withers and spinal process to be prominent and easily visible from a distance.
As deputies checked on the barn, they saw two open stalls that appeared that had not been cleaned for some time and were full of manure. The pasture the horses had to feed on was mostly weeds, with very little nutritious value.
According to the affidavit, the wife told deputies that she had fed hay to the horses. When deputies told her there was none on the property, she said she ran out of it the night before.
The deputy who had also been there in March, told the woman that since then, Layla and Nitro had “significantly declined.” The woman said she and her husband were struggling financially and she was doing her best to feed the horses every day.
When a deputy asked the woman whether she would have a vet to come out to check on the horses, she said she could not afford it.
On September 24, 2024, deputies were able to serve a search warrant signed by Judge Stacy M. Youmans and Layla and Nitro were removed from the property and were taken to the agricultural investigations farm, where veterinarian Dr. Eric Evans examined them.
Dr. Evans found Layla to be underweight, giving her body condition a two on a scale of one to nine; Nitro’s was scored as a three. The body condition score scale advises that a horse scored as one is emaciated and a nine is morbidly obese. Dr. Evans told deputies he was worried about re-feeding syndromes with the horses due to their extremely poor bodily conditions.
On November 1, 2024, Dr. Evans conducted a follow-up where he found Layla’s and Nitro’s condition had majorly improved after a basic standard of care was applied to them since being seized on September 2024.
Husband and wife are being charged with one felony count of animal cruelty and a misdemeanor count of aggravated animal cruelty.
At the time of writing, online arrest records show the couple are being held into the Marion County Jail.
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Disclaimer: This story is sourced from official documents provided to Voice for Us by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Please note that details may be removed or new information added should updates become available.
In the case of charges being dropped, dismissed, or the case being purged, this article will be rectified accordingly, if official documentation is provided to Voice For Us.
Mugshots shared from the Marion County Sheriff's Office
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