Woman and 12 Mini Ponies Found Dead at Home in Genesee County

Gaines Township residents were shocked to find out that a woman from the community had died and no one noticed. To make the matter even worse, she had been dead so long that most of her animals passed away as well.

According to WNEM, the homeowner, 64-year-old Gilda Mizell, was found dead in her vehicle in the driveway back in January. There were 12 dead mini ponies and a dead dog inside the house and barns on the property that sits on Seymour Road.

While the animals died of starvation, it's believed that the homeowner passed away in her driveway of natural causes.

It's not clear at the moment, how long the woman had been dead before someone found her. Obviously, she had been there quite some time if the animals died of starvation.

When Michigan State Police arrived on the scene, they found some of the animals still alive. Apparently, they found one horse and two dogs still alive. Those animals are still alive and well and have been placed in new homes.

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Some residents were really fired up to think that something like this could happen in the community and go unnoticed.

MSP Lt. Kim Vetter:

Ms. Mizell was the only caregiver for these animals and unfortunately, she’s deceased and there’s nobody that was responsible for taking care of these animals. There’s nobody else to hold accountable.

I think some people believe that the animals were malnourished and living in poor conditions prior to the woman's death.