ST. CLOUD, Fla. — A woman who works as a Disney security guard was arrested Saturday on animal cruelty charges after animal control officers found six dead and four malnourished horses on two separate properties.
Osceola County deputies arrested Melissa Marie Payne, 55, of St. Cloud after a well-being check on Leon Tyson Road. Animal control officers said that they found four malnourished horses with severe skin infections and no housing or food.
Officers said the only source of water was a pond near an overgrown field on the back of the property.
A veterinarian examined the horses and said they were underweight and had rain rot. He also determined that their conditions were due to lack of care over a period of time. The horses were placed in the care of the Osceola County Animal Control Department, deputies said.
Deputies said they found six dead horses, which they discovered also belonged to Payne, on a property on Thompkins Drive. The owner of the property had moved out of state and allowed Payne to keep her horses on the property for a monthly rent, according to authorities.
Channel 9 learned Payne kept the horses on the property for five years until she couldn't afford the rent. She moved them to Rosemary Smith's land for $600 a month.
"When I saw them I was like, 'There's no grass, so you're really going to have to put the hay out there and feed them.' She said, 'I will, I will,'" Smith said.
Smith said Payne told her she couldn't afford the rent, but Smith told her it was OK as long as she took care of the horses.
One horse died and others began to look sick, so Smith's granddaughter said she started feeding them. Smith's granddaughter said Payne told her she fed them too much and they became colicky and died.
Smith said she asked Payne to bury the horses when they started dying, but said she instead left the bodies scattered across the pasture.
"She said that's an Indian burial; above ground," Smith said.
Deputies said Payne was taken into custody, but did not cooperate with the investigation.
Payne is charged with one count of animal cruelty and three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Deputies said additional charges are pending the outcome of the investigation.