(WMAR) — One woman was arrested and another is being sought by Baltimore County Police for stealing a baby cow from a farm in Woodstock in April.
Police said at about 10 a.m. on April 22 they were called to Braglio Farms, in the 3300 block of Hernwood Road after the farm’s owners realized the 3-month-old calf Milly, whom they kept as a pet, was missing. As the owners scoured the internet and social media for mentions of the calf, they found photos of two women who had been trespassing on the farm and petting the cow two days prior to its disappearance. The owners were able to obtain vehicle information from the car the women left the farm in after they were escorted off of the property.
Police later identified the woman as 44-year-old Jennifer Lauren Sulley and 19-year-old Erika Lynn Wilkinson. Photos of the missing calf were found posted to Wilkinson’s social media account and to the Facebook page for “Life with Pigs,” a privately owned and operated non-profit animal sanctuary in Williamsburg, Va. Wilkinson was tagged in the photos.
Police determined that the stolen calf was indeed at the Life with Pigs facility. Officers from the James City County Police in Virginia obtained and executed a search and seizure warrant for the stolen calf on May 7, returning it to its owner. While performing the warrant, the owner of Life with Pigs gave police false information about how the calf ended up at the Virginia facility before admitting that it was given to the sanctuary by Sully, Baltimore County Police said.
Sully, of the 3500 block of Buena Vista Avenue in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood, was arrested on a warrant on May 27, police said. She faces multiple burglary and theft charges and has since posted a $10,000 unsecured bond after her initial bail hearing.
Baltimore County Police also obtained a warrant for Wilkinson, whose last known address is in the 8100 block of Strawberry Lane in Falls Church, Va. She has not yet been located, and police ask anyone who may know of her whereabouts to call 911.
Subsequently, the Baltimore County Police Animal Abuse Team, along with Baltimore County Animal Services, began an investigation into allegations against Braglio Farms that stemmed from the calf’s theft. The agencies determined they found no evidence of any animal abuse or neglect at the farm. The case remains an active investigation though, police said, as additional information surrounding the theft of the calf continues to come to light.
Life with Pigs Facebook page has multiple posts disputing the Baltimore County Police account of what prompted the calf to end up at the sanctuary, several including photos of what the sanctuary claims is the calf, whom they call "Sophie," and describing suffering from many deteriorating physical conditions that the sanctuary says are evidence of mistreatment by Braglio Farms. An online petition has more than 40,000 supporters, with the hope of reaching 45,000 or more, calling for the calf to be "saved" and returned to the Virginia animal facility.
