An Orange County woman accused this summer of cruelty to horses has died. Nancy S. Mackall, 55, died in an Arlington hospice Nov. 3, according to an obituary Nov. 6 in the Washington Post. She was buried Saturday in McLean.
Mackall was scheduled for trial in Orange County General District Court Nov. 20 to face 10 counts of animal cruelty and 20 counts of failure to properly dispose of animal corpses. The case arose Aug. 6 when a neighbor alerted county authorities to questionable conditions on Mackall’s Mine Run farm.
According to law enforcement officers, several emaciated and dead horses — some of them not buried — were found on the property. Ten other horses, described by authorities as being in fair condition, were also on the farm.
Under an agreement reached Aug. 21, Mackall surrendered custody of the healthy horses to Culpeper farmer and businessman Gardiner Mulford. Volunteers also assisted in caring for animals removed from the farm.
Although the state’s Web-based court information system shows the case as pending, Orange County Commonwealth’s Attorney Diana Wheeler said it will be dismissed next week.
Mackall at one time operated a retirement farm in which polo ponies were supposed to live out their days in peace and safety. However, friends and family members told the Star-Exponent and other media outlets this summer that Mackall had stepped back from that role in recent years in order to deal with health and family-related issues.
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