A Boynton Beach woman was arrested after police say a cat and a dog were found dead inside her apartment.
Police conducted a welfare check at 2957 Quantum Lakes Dr. around 3 p.m. Sunday, following reports of flies in the window of the apartment, a slight odor of decomposition and old mail attached to the door.
Officials say a maintenance worker responded to the scene and was able to open the door for Boynton Beach officers to conduct the welfare check. Officers found the deceased dog in the bedroom closet and the deceased cat in the toilet.
Officials say they were able to contact the renter, 26-year-old Ashley Giselle Alicea, a short time later via phone. The woman told officers she was out of the state and would be unable to respond to the scene. She then told officers that she was in Orlando at her parents house and finally said she was in Delray Beach and agreed to respond to the scene.
According to a police report, Alicea told officers she lived alone with her brown Pomeranian/Chihuahua dog named Moose and her gray/white cat named Pablo. She said that in January 2017, she allowed a man named Austin, or Tyler, to live in her apartment while she moved to Boca Raton to live with her boyfriend. She claimed that she was paying the rent and the roommate would pay for the electric and water bills, although she never spoke to him about his duty to care for the animals.
Officials say Alicea provided several conflicting stories as to when she vacated her apartment, when she last saw her pets, when she moved in with her boyfriend and when she was last in the apartment to see the pets. She was also unable to provide any further details about the unknown male that was supposed to be caring for the pets.
A necropsy was performed in both animals Wednesday. Both the dog and the cat died from "a lack of food and water," officials say.
Alicea was charged with two counts of felony cruelty to animals and two counts of animal abandonment.