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CLEVELAND (WJW) — The founder of a local animal rescue died while awaiting trial on nearly 200 counts of animal cruelty , after more than 150 dogs were found dead at two properties she owns, along with other neglected animals.
A Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson on Thursday confirmed Barbara Wible, 69, of Parma , died on Jan. 28, but said the office only learned of the woman’s death on Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecutors now plan to file a motion to dismiss the charges against her, the spokesperson said.
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Wible was first charged in June 2023, after investigators conducting a welfare check found 146 dead and decomposing dogs at her home in Mantua Township , Portage County .
A follow-up investigation at her home in Parma, Cuyahoga County, uncovered another 12 dead dogs and another 24 dogs that had been severely neglected for months, according to authorities.