BOONVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – A woman has been sentenced in reference to an animal cruelty case.
Shayna Burko was sentenced to 48 months in prison and ordered to pay $8,243.24 in restitution. She did not address the court prior to being sentenced.
Agreement in the works in Warrick County animal cruelty case
In January of 2025, Burko and her mother Kimberley were arrested after police say they found more than two dozen animals in Burko’s Newburgh home. An affidavit says several animals were dead, and the home was filed with urine and feces.
During the hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Jon Schaefer said Burko “hoards” animals, would acquire them and not take care of them, often leaving her place for long durations. Schaefer said when the Warrick Humane Society and Warrick Animal Control searched the house, animals had been found eating themselves to stay alive with body parts missing. Schaefer also claimed because Burko had violated her probation out of Vanderburgh County and had plead guilty before and still hoarded animals, she had shown she couldn’t be trusted and incarceration was the only option left. As a result, Schaefer recommended the maximum sentence of 48 months plus restitution…