As many may remember, on 28 August 2023, one of the most horrific cases of animal abuse and killing of over 150 animals was discovered in Marlton/Evesham, New Jersey.
I made the initial report to the police after recovering two malnourished dogs from Rebecca Halbach and Brandon Leconey’s home. The dogs had been requested by Halbach as a representative of Lynn’s Animal Rescue from a North Carolina rescue so they could “find them good homes.” Following the initial flurry of reporting, the press stopped covering this story less than two months after the incident. The lack of follow-up coverage by the press is surprising.
Nothing has been published about the prosecution and 3 January 2025 sentencing of the animal abusers, or the causes and impact of weak enforcement of NJ’s animal abuse laws, or the reasons behind the light sentences handed out by the NJ court system in this case and across the state overall. I attended every court hearing in this animal abuse case with only one county resident attending the sentencing hearings.
What I found surprising, with 50,000 pet owners in Burlington County, was the lack of community interest/concern about these animal abusers living and operating in their neighborhood. (Fact: Animal abusers are five times more likely to commit other violent crimes. In this case they also committed child abuse, fraud, and embezzlement.)
An example of weak enforcement of animal abuse laws, was the serious lack of investigative follow-up by local detectives on important aspects of the Halbach-Leconey case. I, as the initial complainant, was never contacted by the lead detective for additional information on the case. We had to hire our own NJ lawyer in order to (1) navigate the NJ court system and (2) ensure local detectives and magistrate prosecutors understand the animal abuse laws and that prosecutors follow through with the case in magistrate court.
My wife and I also wanted to shed light on the callous disregard for animal safety by the owner of Lynn’s Animal Rescue, Lynn Mangano.
She did nothing to stop the animal abuse/killings after we notified her of issues/irregularities with Halbach within her rescue’s operations almost two months before the police were called in to investigate. It shouldn’t have taken animal lovers/rescue volunteers to discover and expose the animal abuse/killers in Evesham Township – Rebecca Halbach and Brandon Leconey, nor to hold the owner of the rescue accountable for allowing these heinous acts to continue.
On 29 August 2024, the Evesham Municipal court judge found “probable cause” for the three criminal animal abuse charges against Mangano. We found out that no one in that court system was prepared to work on or address the Mangano/Lynn’s Animal Rescue animal abuse case.
It became very apparent that the Evesham Township prosecutor was unwilling to read the evidence packages that we and our attorney provided him with. Our evidence packages provide a very solid case against Mangano and the rescue. The prosecutor is being dismissive of a straightforward case where the evidence and the relevant law have been expertly laid out for him by our attorney. It cannot be said to be prosecutorial discretion, to dismiss a case without reviewing the documented video, audio and text message evidence. Is it not a prosecutor’s job to carry out justice? To review evidence on his cases? Isn’t he supposed to protect public interest and trust?
Regardless of the outcome of the Mangano/Lynn’s Animal Rescue case, New Jersey State laws need to be updated to (1) increase the penalties for serial animal abusers and for animal abusers who operate/work in animal rescues, shelters, or the animal care industry and (2) mandate animal rescues be better regulated and annually inspected for animal health and welfare.
Please contact your state representatives and the Evesham Township leadership to express your interest in increasing penalties for animal abuse.
Andrew N., Evesham
