Plea deal struck in cat obsession
Couple barred from owning pets and must continue counseling

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Plea deal struck in cat obsession
Couple barred from owning pets and must continue counseling

By JAMIE SATTERFIELD, satterfield@knews.com
October 13, 2006

They were a couple with a ghastly secret that, when uncovered, would shock a community.

Sylvia Sexton, 65, was obsessed with cats and collected so many she simply could not care for them all. The animals overran a Fox Den subdivision home in Farragut that she owned with her husband, car salesman Charles W. Sexton, court records show.

When the cats died, she entombed many of them Egyptian style, placing their bodies inside boxes or bags along with personal items such as brushes, food and even pet sweaters, a prosecutor says. Eventually, the house was littered with cat carcasses.

Soon, she began collecting more of the animals, this time at the Tazewell Pike home in North Knoxville where she and her husband lived. Charles Sexton knew something was wrong with his wife's psyche, but, like an alcoholic's kin, learned simply to live with the situation, according to a prosecutor.

Then one of Sylvia Sexton's cats bit a neighbor in Fox Den in June that drew a probe by the Knox County Animal Control Division. The probe led to the discovery of 33 cat carcasses and a slew of charges against the Sextons.

It would also lead defense attorney Norman McKellar and Assistant District Attorney General Steve Garrett onto a path of discovery about a mental illness neither had dealt with.

"They're just the nicest people you'll ever meet," McKellar said Thursday. "They've raised children. They're grandparents. And, as strange as it may sound, they're animal lovers."

"Animal hoarding is a pretty recognized and relatively common condition," Garrett added. "Hoarders think they're helping animals when they're actually harming them."

The way Garrett saw it, Sylvia Sexton was a hoarder with a twist. Most animal hoarders live alone. She was married.

"I guess what you have is an enabling situation," Garrett said of Charles Sexton.

"He was a husband who loved his wife," McKellar said.

The Sextons' children had no idea of the situation, McKellar said. The pair's arrest changed that.

"It's a very close family," he said. "But they had no idea what was going on. (The Sextons) voluntarily went down and started receiving treatment."

Sylvia Sexton remains in treatment. She and her husband are now living with one of their adult children in another state.

On Thursday, the pair entered a plea deal in which they admitted guilt to two counts each of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Knox County General Sessions Judge Charles Cerny granted the couple diversion, which will keep their clean records spotless if they abide by the terms of the plea deal.

Those terms include continued counseling and, more importantly, no more pets.

"These people had led a fairly normal life up to just a few years ago," Garrett said in explaining the deal brokered in the case. "We had some letters from her psychiatrist saying that she understood she had a problem and needed treatment."

Kellar added: "For 65 years, they have lived an exemplary life. I think this agreement allows them to get the treatment they need."

Jamie Satterfield may be reached at 865-342-6308.

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_5062725,00.html