Forensic Puppy Thief
No Damn Expert
Florida Circuit Judge Kicks Merck to the Curb
Blue Dog State readers will remember the key role Merck played in the shameful seizure of Joe Woodall's dogs.
Merck okayed the impoundment of Woodall's healthy, happy dogs for "evaluation on suspicion of dogfighting."
It took Joe eight weeks, and more than he could afford in attorney's fees, to secure the return of his dogs. Woodall was never charged with a crime, but his life changed forever.
Cats and "professional", "serial" cat killers
Leveraging her "forensic" credentials as she ascends the animal extremist hierarchy, Merck continues to play a critical role in the seizure of animals on suspicion of heinous crimes and sending unknown quantities of dogs to their deaths based on her "expert" opinion that they were used in dogfighting.
You can fool some of the people all of the time. . .
In Miami-Dade, coverage of the "serial cat killer" responsible for the "surgical evisceration" of 19 pets alternately thrilled and terrorized South Florida residents for months as a young man faced allegations of criminally depraved behavior. The Discovery Channel just couldn't get enough of the story.
18-year-old Tyler Weinman endured house arrest, an electronic monitoring device, court-ordered psychiatric evaluations, and heavy bond requirements. He received death threats, and he faced 158 years in prison if convicted.
As the country's foremost "forensic animal expert" Merck told authorities that in her opinion the dead cats had been cruelly sliced apart with sharp instrument, presenting in a stereotypically deviant way. The ASPCA's other "authority", Randall Lockwood, added a little more fuel to the twisted fire, as he explained that . . .
. . .cruelty toward cats, as opposed to other animals, can fulfill a deeper need for control. Cats, unlike dogs, can be more difficult to control. They don't come when they're called and are often more independent (said Dr. Randall Lockwood of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and author of "Forensic Investigation of Animal Cruelty").
Things just couldn't have been sicker, according to the ASPCA.
Instead of a demented cat-hating psycho on the loose, the cats were killed by the usual suspects: animal predators. "Forensic expert" Merck was forced to change her interpretation of the evidence and agree with the defense's witness.
Charges against the defendant were quickly dropped.
Judge fed up with imaginary serial cat killers and phantom dog rapists
Only two weeks later, in considering the Armand Pacher dog-sexploitation charges, Judge Trawick was outspoken in his rejection of Merck's expertise:
"She doesn't have any credibility with me right now," Circuit Judge Daryl Trawick warned a prosecutor during a pretrial hearing. . . If you're going to rely upon her, she's going to have to come to this courtroom and testify. . .I will judge her credibility based upon what I see from the witness stand."
Pacher, a retired business executive in poor health and with no prior criminal record, made an off-colored joke when he brought his Great Dane in to a University of Florida veterinary clinic.
The cops based themselves on Melinda Merck's examination of the dog and her findings of vaginitis, human sperm and other indications of sexual abuse. Merck provided police with an affidavit supporting the search and the seizure of Pacher's computer and other personal items because "this type of sexually deviant behavior has a definite voyeuristic component.''
Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? Except the cops didn't find any perverted, weird crap in Pacher's home. The only "evidence" against him was Merck's examination of the dog. And guess what?
The four board certified theriologists who reviewed Merck's test results, and the conclusions she drew, disagreed with her. Majorly. Nearly violently.
In fact, Dr. Bruce Elits of Louisiana State University concluded that Merck "made false statements in this report in order to exaggerate the true facts."
Attention media hounds and ASPCA watchers: Watch for civil law suits from both Pacher and Weinman. The various instigators of the destruction of their lives may not have heard the last of them yet.
Peers review the ASPCA's forensic head honcho
In evaluating Melinda Merck's work on the Pacher case, other experts in animal reproduction were not impressed either:
Dr. G. Reed Holyoak of Oklahoma State University: "It would appear, in the end, there was no sperm where they thought sperm had been and what they thought was sperm was probably something else.''
Dr. Hannah Glanlantino-Homer of the University of Pennsylvania: "I have found nothing in any of these records that supports Dr. Merck's repeated assertions that [Pacher's dog] 'Christie' suffered from sexual abuse by her owner.''
Miami veterinarian Dr. Ray George Bailey: "[W]ith the total lack of any supporting evidence from the start, making these type of accusations, taking Mr. Pacher's dog away for months, arresting Mr. Pacher, newspaper and Internet articles about his arrest, defamation of his character, not to mention legal expense, is all just wrong.''
When "animal CSI" goes wrong. . .way wrong
Dr. Patty Khuly, vet and writer of the popular veterinary blog, PetMd. writes:
In a stunning breach of ethics and/or competence, self-styled "animal CSI" expert, Dr. Melinda Merck (of the ASPCA) either misled the courts for the purpose of advancing her personal/professional agenda, or she displayed shocking incompetence in the field she pioneered and through which she rose to prominence.
and it just keeps getting better. . .
She's "training" more "animal CSI" "experts." With a $300,000 stake from the ASPCA Merck co-founded UF's "Animal CSI" program in 2009.
The whole corrupt idea is that privately-employed individuals should be "training" employees of other private corporations (SPCA's and "humane societies") in the enforcement of laws which govern all of us.
Merck, the employee of a private corporation with no responsibilities other than to the board of directors of that private corporation, influenced the issuance of search warrants and the prosecution of two individuals in Florida for crimes that, apparently, are figments of her own sick (really sick) imagination.
Or her blind ambition. Or God complex. Whatever.
Florida Circuit Court Judge Daryl Trawick has her number. Merck is, literally, incredible. I just hope the judges and prosecutors in other cases Merck instigated are paying attention.
7 comments:
I knew without a doubt that Armand was INNOCENT! I haven't seen Armand and sweet Christie in over a year but knew without a doubt that this was a witch hunt! Armand has a very funny sense of humor and this was just that. This vet should be. . .well, castrasted figuratively for lack of a better word - she is the "crack pot" in the cases mentioned here. And unfortunately there will be others she will try and leave her mark on, as well in the future. But Karma has an amazing way of coming back to bite you in the, well you know where - when you least expect it. Hers will find her!
Merck testified in the Patrick case that she could tell if ANY scar was from COMMERCIAL dog fighting, any scar, no matter how small, nonexistent, or old etc. After an hour of cross, she finally relented.She and the local AC vet couldnt agree on anything on the dogs. When photos of real fighting dogs were shown from Jessups site, Merck's voice shot up a couple of octaves and she said "they dont do that, they pick the dogs up, that is extreme". Merck didnt look like such a confident "expert" then, she looked like the stupid egotistical know it all fool she is.She was flown in by HSUS to be a witness (to nothing, as all she ever saw was some AC photos of wet dogs that had been injured in the dog pound by AC rough handling). The HSUS flew in Blue Barrel Kumpf too, to spin the HSUS party line. He was no witness to anything either. He lost the case for them. They should have talked to thier witnesses first before putting them in front of a good defense attny. All the people on the prosecution side were wined and dined and put up for free so they could orchestrate the fiasco that they LOST.The Judge was not fooled. LOL.
Ah what a nice living we all could make if only we were without conscience in our willingness to lie to attain our goals ...
How interesting! Based at least partially on the "expert" advice of Dr. Merck, our shelter in Pennsylvania was shut down and we were made by the media to look like sadistic fiends who pulled out cats' whiskers with tweezers. We always knew we had been railroaded, but now, one has to wonder if her expert opinions are so expert afterall, or was she merely trying to promote her own agenda. The ASPCA spent a reported $300,000 to take our cats and crush us publicly. Wouln't the money have been better spent helping us, because now the cats in the area are at the mercy of the local HS, which has neither the room, nor the desire to pick up the slack. Thank you, Dr. Merck.
i don't even know where to begin. i knew this crazy woman a decade ago when she owned a cat clinic in roswell, ga. all i can say is that she is a psychotic freak. she's a man-hating, schizofrenic, angry, angry, angry woman. she DEFINITELY has a god complex, and she is EXTREMELY unstable. i'm glad our family moved a thousand miles away from her. she belongs in a straight jacket. i've thought this for 11 years now, and everything that is coming to a head right now is just proving my intuition to be "on the money."
How can someone like that wind the police up that way?
I knew Dr. Merck when she owned the Cat Clinic of Roswell. I never thought she was crazy per se, but I am still trying to figure out how one goes from being a cat vet to a forensic specialist without any background or training. One day she was the owner of the Cat Clinic, the next, she was a "forensic expert". I took my cats to her for many years, she was a nice lady and all, but to my knowledge, she NEVER engaged in any forensic type of practice during the entire time so I am just puzzled how she became an "expert" in this area so quickly????
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