A Chehalis woman accused of being evasive with officers investigating a video showing a child in her care torturing a cat, posting a threatening banner facing her neighbor’s property and wrongfully accusing the county’s humane officer of assault has pleaded not guilty to felony charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
The defendant, Rebecca Nichols, 81, was recently at the center of a Chronicle news story about her rottweiler, Karma, that had been labeled a “dangerous dog” by the Lewis County Dangerous Animal Designation Board and was euthanized in early October after Nichols failed to comply with rules in order to keep her.
About a month prior, on Sept. 7, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of animal abuse on Nichols’ property after deputies received videos from a neighbor showing the “abuse/torture” of a cat, according to court documents.
In the video, a child in Nichols’ care had a cat on a leash and is reportedly seen “dragging the cat, swinging it around and slamming it into the ground.” Medical examination on the cat showed it suffered a broken neck, causing its death.
When contacted by deputies about the videos, Nichols allegedly reported “the cat was still alive, but (she) was unable to locate it at this time.” During the conversation, Nichols was allegedly “evasive in her answers and continued to glance in the direction where the responding deputy eventually located a black plastic bag” containing the dead cat shown in the video. When confronted, Nichols allegedly admitted to placing the deceased cat in the bag, according to court documents.
Exactly one month later, on Oct. 7, law enforcement returned to the property after a neighbor reported Nichols had put up a banner facing the neighbor’s residence reading “payback is a bitch,” according to court documents. Given a long history between the neighbors, including multiple protection orders that have expired, the neighbor told law enforcement they believed the sign was a threat.
Nichols was charged with one count each of second-degree rendering criminal assistance and felony harassment on Oct. 25 and was issued a summons notice for a Nov. 14 hearing in Lewis County Superior Court.
The day of the hearing, the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office filed amended information adding a third charge to Nichols’ case — malicious prosecution — accusing Nichols of having Lewis County Humane Officer Alisha Hornburg arrested “maliciously and without probable cause” on Oct. 7, according to court documents.
Nichols has accused Hornburg of an assault that centered around the animal case, according to Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer.
Hornburg had worked with Nichols for several months prior to the Sept. 7 incident to bring Nichols into compliance with Karma’s dangerous dog designation, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
Nichols was present for her Nov. 14 preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court, where all parties agreed to allow Nichols to remain out of custody on her own personal recognizance for the duration of the case. However, Meyer requested a special condition to Nichols’ release prohibiting her from keeping animals on her property until the case is complete.
Given the allegations, Meyer said “the state is concerned about the health and safety of the animals.”
As Nichols’ attorney was unprepared to argue against that requested condition on Monday, Judge James Lawler reserved his ruling on the issue and scheduled a hearing to review Nichols’ conditions of release for 1:15 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 28.
Trial has been scheduled for the week of Feb. 6.
