Breanna Mikula(aka Breanna Tuchel) is charged with: Count 1: MISTREATMENT OF ANIMALS - PTAC, AS A PARTY TO A CRIME  The above-named defendant between January 01, 2015 and June 29, 2017, in the Town of Wilson, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, as a party to a crime, did intentionally treat an animal, a dog, in a cruel manner, resulting in the animal's death, contrary to sec. 951.02, 939.50(3)(i), 939.05 Wis. Stats.  Upon conviction for this offense, a Class I Felony, the defendant may be fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000), or imprisoned not more than three (3) years and six (6) months, or both.  Count 2-37: FAIL TO PROVIDE PROPER FOOD AND DRINK TO CONFINED ANIMALS - PTAC, AS A PARTY TO A CRIME  The above-named defendant between May 01, 2017 and June 29, 2017, in the Town of Wilson, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, as a party to a crime, being a person responsible for confining an animal, a dog, did negligently fail to supply a sufficient supply of food or quantity of water to maintain all animals in good health, contrary to sec. 951.13(1) and (2)&18(1), 939.51(3)(a), 939.05 Wis. Stats.  Upon conviction for EACH offense, a Class A Misdemeanor, the defendant may be fined not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000), or imprisoned not more than nine (9) months, or both.  WARNING: The following is Graphic and disturbing to read. The basis of Complainant’s charge of such offense is official reports prepared by Captain Corey Roeseler, Deputies Shannon Brill, Brian Beernink, Josh Grunewald, and Bradley Robinson, Corporal Adam Walter, Sergeant Terry Cram, Sergeant Detective Corey Norlander, and Detectives Scott Wieland, Bradley Abel, Gerald Urban and Nathan Hatch, all of the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department, which reports indicate that on June 28, 2017, Captain Roeseler was contacted regarding the welfare of dogs at Kinship Kennels, 8509 Middle Road, Town of Wilson, County of Sheboygan, State of Wisconsin. The kennel is owned by Christie R. Tuchel, DOB 02/08/79, and her significant other, Anthony J. Keyport, DOB 11/23/85.  The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Animal Health inspected the property when the kennel still had a license to sell dogs. The Town of Wilson revoked the conditional use permit for the kennel in 2014, resulting in the kennel no longer having a license to sell dogs. The Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department had also been contacted about the kennel multiple times with many prior visits and inspections of the property.  On June 28, 2017, Charles Mikula contacted Captain Roeseler. He advised that he believed that JMM, DOB 12/13/00, one of Christie’s sons and Anthony’s step-son, was the only one caring for the dogs at the kennel. He also said that he feared that the dogs were not receiving food or water. Charles further reported having some text messages from Anthony about some previous abuse to the dogs and some dead dogs being in a freezer at the kennel.  Captain Roeseler interviewed JMM as well as one of JMM’s sisters, SNM, DOB 10/19/98. JMM explained to Captain Roeseler that his mother, Christie, owned the kennel. However, he also said that Christie had not been helping at all with the kennel. He said that she could not go anywhere near the kennel or it would trigger her PTSD. He said Christie was last at the kennel around two years ago when they had a huge liquidation sale and got rid of 40 or 50 dogs. He also said that around 2014 or 2015 they had up to 130 dogs at the kennel  JMM said that he began working at the kennel around two or three years ago. He said that Anthony helped at the kennel with JMM until one of JMM’s brothers was born and Anthony stopped to help with the baby. Thereafter, JMM had been solely responsible for feeding and caring for the dogs at the kennel.  JMM informed Captain Roeseler that prior to the kennel losing its license they were able to buy food on a daily basis, usually 200 pounds per day. However, getting dog food later went down to every other day and then on again and off again with the decision to buy food up to Christie and Anthony. He said that one of his sisters, BreAnna A. Mikula, DOB 02/01/97, would drop food off from time to time, but not often. He said the last time she brought food was approximately one month ago when she used to work at a pet supply store where she, according to JMM, used to get free food. He said the food was not much, only like 40 pounds. JMM recalled a day when he could only give the dogs a small, pink measuring cup of food rather than a big scoop full. He said “that day sucked.”  JMM also told Captain Roeseler that BreAnna and Christie instructed him to feed the dogs less, especially days they had to ration food. He said that he would let Christie know there was not any food with Christie telling him to go and tell his sister or Anthony.  JMM said he had last been at the kennel to feed the animals on June 25, 2017, later correcting himself to June 26, 2017. He left the residence after an incident with BreAnna. He also said that he feared the animals had not been fed or watered since he left. SNM, another of Christie’s children, shared the same concern. She said that she called Christie to talk to her about the welfare of the dogs, but Christie would quickly change to subject to either BreAnna and her health issues or JMM.  While speaking with Captain Roeseler, JMM described a day that he said was sometime in winter before the Sheriff’s Department’s last visit in February of 2017, when one of the dogs got out of its kennel, attempted to dig through a wall, hit a water line and flooded the kennel. He said the incident caused six of the dogs to drown. JMM said that the dogs should be in a freezer at the kennel along with a few other dogs that died of starvation. He was unsure how many dogs were in the freezers yet, but indicated in a text message that he sent to Anthony that both freezers were full. JMM also told Captain Roeseler that he did not believe the freezers worked anymore. When asked why the dogs were still in the freezer, JMM said, “they are too damn lazy to get a digger in and bury them.” He said that Christie and Anthony no longer went to the kennel and that the kids had to do all of the work.  JMM went on to tell Captain Roeseler that the dogs at the kennel were being fed every other day. He said that BreAnna would buy dog food every two days, usually from Wal-Mart, and he would feed the dogs every other day. He also said that no one other than BreAnna and Anthony drove so it would have to be one of them that bought and delivered the food.  JMM also shared with Captain Roeseler that prior to any inspection request from the Sheriff’s Department in the past they would work to clean up the kennel and take any unhealthy dogs out and hide them. He articulated that the unhealthy dogs would be hidden either in the house or a vehicle that would be driven around until law enforcement left the property. SNM also said that Christie hid the dogs when the Sheriff’s Department would perform their inspections. JMM advised that the dogs that were hidden were sick or too thin.  Law enforcement received a warrant to search the kennel at 8509 Middle Road, the associated residence next door and a third residence. The search warrants were executed on June 29, 2017.  Captain Roeseler made contact with both Christie and BreAnna as officers were executing the search warrants. Law enforcement did not know where Anthony was located at the time. BreAnna stated that she bought dog food the prior evening, which was still in the back of her vehicle. She also said that she used existing food to feed the dogs the prior evening, which was the first time she had been out to care for the dogs in a while. She said she had been at the kennel for approximately one hour feeding and watering the dogs and had not been back to the kennel since. BreAnna said that when she saw the condition of the kennel she was upset because it was in such poor condition from when she last saw it. She also said that she planned on using the new food she purchased to feed the dogs on June 29, 2017. She blamed JMM who she said should have been caring for the dogs and had been doing so all along.  When asked, Christie told Captain Roeseler that it had been a long time since she had been at the kennel. She indicated that it might have been a year, but BreAnna said it was longer. Christie did not know the access code for the kennel.  Captain Roeseler assisted with the execution of the search warrant at the kennel. Members of the Sheboygan County Humane Society also assisted. The kennel consisted of a large four-door garage with an office. The entire property was rundown with dilapidated items all over the place. According to Detective Hatch’s report, a total of 36 dogs were found within the kennel. Wood shavings in the dog pens were soiled with urine and feces. There was a strong odor of ammonia from dog urine throughout the building. Several of the pens had steel caging that was detached at the base with butt ends of heavy gauge wire exposed.  Captain Roeseler reports that none of the dogs had water in their pales. Although Detective Hatch noted that one dog had approximately one inch of water in its bucket, but it was dirty. The dogs were given water with each one drinking immediately. None of the dogs had any food. One of the dogs had its paw caught on fencing along the bottom of a kennel, which had pulled free from the rail after vibration and wear. Dr. Melissa Heenan, a staff veterinarian of the Sheboygan County Humane Society, was able to remove the paw from the wire.  Deputy Robinson, who assisted in the search warrant at the kennel, noted an overpowering unpleasant odor at the doorway of the building. He also observed many large rodents running around inside the building.  The kennel had a gate to a large dog run area on the south side of the building. The base in the area was asphalt. Sergeant Detective Norlander did not see any evidence that dogs had been in the run area in recent times. There was no feces present and weeds/plants were growing up in places. There were no food or water containers in the run area. None of the doors that opened into the dog run from the kennel building were in proper operating order. None of the overhead doors worked, although one was up approximately two feet. There was a heavy kennel fence material closing the bottom.  At the kennel, under some other items, law enforcement found two chest sized freezers. One was 45 inches long by 25 inches wide and 32 inches high. The other freezer was approximately 5 feet long by 27 inches wide and 33 inches high. Upon opening the freezers, law enforcement discovered several deceased dogs. Both freezers were filled to the top. It was evident by the smell that the freezers were not functioning and the dogs were decomposing. The freezers were eventually removed from the building in order to ventilate the area before opening the freezers.  Sergeant Detective Norlander assisted in removing the deceased dogs from the freezers. He noted that each deceased dog was in a bag, either a clear garbage bag, a black garbage bag, or dog food bags. Some of the adult dogs were in two dog food bags. He was able to get what law enforcement believed was a full count on the number of dogs in the large chest freezer, but the bottom one-third to one-half of the smaller chest freezer contained so much liquid decay remains that items in the small chest freezer were unidentifiable. The larger chest freezer held seven adult Bernese Mountain dog carcasses, six adult Golden Retriever carcasses, six puppy carcasses and the carcasses of two dogs that were unidentifiable. It was unknown if other dogs were inside due to the approximate six inches of decomposition in the bottom of the freezer. From the second chest freezer law enforcement retrieved at least 11 dead dogs with seven of them being adult Golden Retrievers, two being Bernese Mountain dogs and one identifiable adult dog. It was estimated that ten additional dogs could have been within the decomposition remaining within the smaller freezer. There were a total of 31 deceased dogs with the potential for an additional 10.  JMM asked Captain Roeseler if law enforcement opened the freezer. He asked, “it’s hell isn’t it?” He said that the first time he had to put a dog in the freezer was “a nightmare.”  JMM said that the freezers were a temporary place for the dead dogs to go until they would be buried. The freezers worked at one time. He said the dogs found in the freezer were from the last two years. When asked how the dogs died, JMM said it was from malnutrition, dehydration, fights, the flood, worms, infections and being put down. He estimated 40 dogs being in the large freezer and 20 in the smaller one. He also recounted a time when Anthony put some puppies that were recently born into a dog food bag while they were still alive and put them in the freezer.  When JMM was asked if Christie knew about the dogs in the freezer and the reason they were in there, JMM replied, “100 percent yes.” JMM also advised that Anthony knew about the dogs in the freezer. When Christie was asked if she knew about the dogs in the freezer, she said that she was aware. Christie said it was something they did with dogs that died in the winter to wait to bury them. Captain Roeseler reports that BreAnna seemed somewhat shocked by the dogs that were found in the freezer. Captain Roeseler explained that there were up to 40 dogs in the freezer, which did not seem to faze Christie.  Dr. Heenan evaluated the 36 live, adult dogs seized from the kennel. She reports that the overwhelming majority of the dogs were mildly to significantly underweight with body condition scores between three and four on a nine point scale. A couple of the dogs had body scores near two. According to the scale, five is ideal and one is extreme emaciation.  Dr. Heenan’s findings also noted that all of the dogs had ear infections to a degree requiring treatment. The ear infections were easily recognized on an external examination  without special instrumentation. However, the infections were also confirmed by microscopic exam. Several of the dogs had severe ear infections with pus draining from the ear and matting of the hair underneath. The degree of swelling in the ear canals and severity of the infections suggested a long-standing condition. According to Dr. Heenan’s summary, the degree of swelling took weeks to months to develop, not days to a couple of weeks.  Dr. Heenan also noted that all of the dogs had moderate to severe dental disease with heavy accumulations of tartar and mild to significant gingivitis. Further, several dogs had broken teeth, including the large canine teeth that appeared to have been broken for some time based on the dark discoloration of some of the teeth. Some of the teeth also had obviously exposed pulp chambers, which exposed the nerve.  Further, Dr. Heenan’s evaluation of the dogs showed that all but one to two of them tested positive for both whipworm and hookworm infestations. The amount of spread, according to Dr. Heenan’s summary, meant that the environment where the dogs had been was heavily contaminated with parasite eggs/larvae. Further, she reports that it was likely that the dogs testing negative were either infested but not shedding eggs or were recently dewormed and had not fully re-infected.  The majority of the dogs, according to Dr. Heenan’s report, also had fur matting to some degree. Some of the dogs had severe matting, caked with feces and urine. One of the dogs had a skin rash on its groin, inner thigh and abdomen. Chronic exposure to urine or sitting in damp bedding would be one explanation for the result.  One of the dogs also showed evidence of a urinary tract infection. One of the dogs also had a large mass, two centimeters in diameter, by her vulva. It was suspected to be a malignant Mast Cell Tumor. Two of the dogs also were noted during their exams to have heart murmurs, which later resolved with adequate hydration.  Dr. Heenan’s report noted that all of the dogs improved in overall condition and behavior, including the status of their ear infections, since arriving at the Sheboygan County Humane Society and beginning appropriate medications.  On July 3, 2017, JMM was interviewed by forensic interviewer Amanda Didier. During the interview, JMM talked about the dogs. He said that his father, Charles, left approximately four years ago. Thereafter, an employee he identified as Brandon Reinhart took care of the dogs until JMM’s brother was born. JMM said that he then took over care of the dogs. He said that the family later lost the conditional use permit for the kennel two or three years ago and as a result they lost their license. However, he said that because the dogs were his mother’s entire life, she did not believe it, was in denial and was still in denial. He also said that his mother was still breeding dogs to sell them.  JMM went on to tell Forensic Interviewer Didier that he had no control over when food was being bought for the dogs and would feed them when they had food for them. He also said that he would give the dogs water even on days when they did not have food. He added that his family blamed him for dogs dying of starvation as well as the filthy condition of the kennels even when he claimed that he did not have pine shavings for months.  JMM told Forensic Interviewer Didier that the family got to a real low financial point, which is when they did not have food for the dogs. However, he said that at the same time his mother would spend money on having her hair done. He indicated that running out of food kept happening more and more. He also said that he continued to get blamed more and more.  JMM said that he realized that if he did not do what was necessary, then it would be up to his family, such as his younger siblings. He voiced concerns about his younger siblings having to go through the horrors of everything.  JMM said that he told his siblings to go home and stay in the house because he did not want them to have to deal with the things he was going through and dealing with. He also indicated that at times he would be legitimately fatigued and ask his mother or BreAnna to water or feed the dogs and no one would do it.  He said that the dogs that were dying would not be fed for three days, would be fed on one day before not being fed for two days and then getting fed hot dogs. He said the dogs would die because they would lose weight. He also said that it was very dramatic to see a dog laying on the ground. He also said that he had seen dogs laying on the ground and thought it was his fault because he had been brainwashed into thinking it was his fault. He went on to say that it really messed him up because he saw a front loader on the news and stated that it was used to get the dogs contained in the freezer out of the building. He said that he had to put each one of the dogs in the freezer after placing the dogs into two bags, one for their heads and the other for their backsides. He also said that he had to stomp on the freezer to get it closed.  JMM explained that he felt that he was the only person who could put the dogs in the freezer and was the only person capable of it. When asked who told him to place the dead dogs in the freezers, JMM said that Anthony told him to do it, but that he was directed by his mother and BreAnna, according to Anthony. He also said that he was scared that if he did not do so his mother would be put in jail and lose all of the kids.  JMM said that the freezers were originally there to hold food and then were used for containing the dead dogs. He said that he struggled with the transition of the freezers going from holding wet dog food to holding dead dogs. He said the freezer eventually stopped working and described it as a “big chest of death.”  JMM said that he loved the dogs, but hated that they had them.  JMM told Forensic Interviewer Didier that he became very depressed and lost 30 pounds due to not eating. He indicated it was because of the stress of the dogs and doing everything. He talked about going through a week-long process when he wished for somebody else to take care of the dogs, but his mother explained how it would make him big and strong and so attractive. He also said that he believed he had PTSD, which he said was not based just on the dogs, but also all of the other things that have happened, including his mother telling him how he makes her want to kill herself.  JMM also told Forensic Interviewer Didier, when asked if anyone told him not to say what happened at the home or business, that his mother and BreAnna said that if he were ever to say anything to anyone the family would lose everything. He said it was mental abuse and  that they were blackmailing him and leaving him with the impression that his entire world would collapse. He said that he was scared of social workers and police being at the property. He also said that he lost nights of sleep and puked over it.  JMM said that he drew the line at putting animals down. He said that he was asked to do it, but never did it. When asked who put the animals down, JMM said that Anthony was the main person and that Liam did it once.  On July 17, 2017, Captain Roeseler interviewed a male who will be identified for purposes of this Criminal Complaint as JLC, DOB 09/02/95. JLC explained that he spent time through the years helping at the kennel. He recounted that when he first began feeding the dogs he did so with a six cup scoop and usually fed two scoops with three dogs in a kennel. He said that he would increase or decrease depending on dog weight. He said that at times it got worse with cheaper food being provided and less amounts. He said there were also times where there was not enough food to feed some dogs, which led to rationing or feeding once a day. He also said that Anthony would instruct on feeding specific dogs if they were soon to be sold. He said that he left the kennel around 2015 and shortly after the sellers license was lost. He also said that when he left there were just shy of 170 dogs, puppies and adults, at the kennel. He also confirmed dogs being hidden during law enforcement inspections.  Captain Roeseler, as a part of law enforcement’s investigation, listened to an audio recording that SNM made of a conversation between herself, Christie and BreAnna on the evening of June 28, 2017. During the conversation, BreAnna said that even though Anthony and JMM were to blame for the dogs they would get blamed. Christy talked about the kids being taken away and being placed. BreAnna also said that if JMM told everything, “we are fucked,” and “he knows everything about the dead dogs and we should be sick with ourselves.” SNM talked about the freezer with BreAnna saying that the freezer stopped working. BreAnna at one point also said, “there are 40 dead dogs in there” and “that’s a slaughter.” BreAnna also spoke about JMM killing puppies, that law enforcement could show up with a warrant the next morning and they would be “fucked,” and “the kennels are not done, there is no food on the premises and [JMM] has not has not done the dogs and just put pine bedding on top. How are we going to get him to not say something is my concern?”  Captain Roeseler interviewed BreAnna on July 19, 2017. She said that she always had involvement with the dogs and then took over managing it in 2016. She said that Anthony took a step back from it after the flood. She said that she got four or five bags a food a night free when she worked at a local pet supplies store. She said that her mother and Anthony would buy food at Wal-Mart or Fleet Farm. When asked about dogs being hidden during inspections, BreAnna said, “as far as I know they were being placed and I had them in homes.” When talking about the freezer, BreAnna said that it was a practice, but not common, to put deceased dogs in the freezer to be able to present them to the vet to look for cause of death. She denied making comments about “slaughter” or there being “40 dogs” in the freezer. BreAnna also said that she felt the dogs were receiving the proper food and water advising that they were fed two to three cups of food daily. She also said that she had no reason to believe that dogs were dying and JMM was putting them in the freezer.  *********************************************************** “Humanity's true moral test, its fundamental test…consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.”