“Smell of Death” comes from a hotel room full of live, dead animals

LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) – An arrest report revealed new details about a serious animal hoarding case in Las Vegas.

Timothy Miller and Carolyn Luke were arrested after Boulder City police said they found dead animals in their car during a traffic stop on March 29.

The City of Las Vegas Animal Control Department said it needed help with the investigation after receiving a call from the Boulder City Police Department about their traffic with Miller and Luke.

Boulder City police said the couple admitted to keeping other animals at two other locations – an unnamed hotel and their home.

At the unnamed hotel, staff evicted Miller and Luke from their room due to numerous animal complaints from other guests. Complaints ranged from “the amount of animals and the smell of death coming from the room.”

The hotel said the couple also violated several hotel policies. Police said Miller made a hotel reservation for March 28-30.

According to authorities, 39 guinea pigs, 1 rabbit, 2 hamsters, 21 live dogs and 12 dead dogs were found at the hotel.

In her home, officers found dogs living in their feces, as well as several dirty aquariums, bird cages and hamster enclosures. The “smell of ammonia” caused officers to have a burning sensation in their lungs and tears in their eyes.

Turtles have been found with soft shells, indicating a lack of proper nutrition and hydration. Documents show they also discovered approximately 42 deceased animals in the freezer, according to the arrest report.

According to authorities, about 20 live and 10 dead dogs were found in the home.

In a recorded interview with a detective, Luke admitted that she had ongoing problems with her neighbor, which led her to bring several animals into the hotel to hide them from neighbors and animal control officers because she knew she wouldn’t have too many Animals should have.

She also admitted that she had not allowed animal control officers to enter the apartment during a previous visit. According to authorities, she said she wanted to clean the apartment before letting the officers inside.

Luke said the dogs’ deaths were due to heat stroke and called it a “tragedy.”

Miller and Luke said they put the dogs in a bag and kept them in the hotel room until they could bury or cremate them. Officers noted that there was never a call to animal control or even self-transport of the sick dogs to the vet or hospital.

Luke told the detective that she and Miller were on their way to the state line to give her friend several guinea pigs because it was becoming too difficult for her to care for them. She told officers she didn’t believe there were dead guinea pigs in the car because they had only been there for 30 minutes and she had fed them before they left the house.

Luke told authorities that there would be no dead animals in their home, even though dozens of animals were found lifeless. She often referred to them as her “babies” and said that she and Miller cared for all the animals.

According to the report, investigators attempted to conduct a recorded interview with Miller, but he declined to respond without his attorney.

According to the arrest report, Miller and Luke told authorities the exact number of dead and live animals at the locations.

Miller and Luke each face 14 counts of intentional and malicious torture of an animal.

Copyright 2024 KVVU via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.