Toms River woman indicted for leaving dogs to die in abandoned Lacey home

The Toms River woman who left three dogs to die in an abandoned Lacey home in 2019 has been indicted by a Grand Jury in Ocean County.

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Alissa DeStefano, 30, was indicted on three counts of Animal Cruelty, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced in a statement on Friday.

Lacey Police responded to a call on November 11, 2019 on a report about dogs possibly being abandoned in a township residence.

When they arrived on scene, they walked into a grim reality finding the remains of three dogs inside of an abandoned home.

Lacey Detectives as well as some from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office learned through their investigation that DeStefano was responsible for the care of the dogs and was the one who left them in the residence, leading to their death.

DeStefano was arrested without incident on November 21, 2019 then processed at the Lacey Township Police Department and was released on a summons pending a future court date.

Prosecutor Billhimer said Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Carr is handling the case on behalf of the State.