Inside the 'house of horrors': 'Biohazard' detailed in report of Chandler animal, elder abuse suspect's home

Disclaimer: Photos, video and details of this report are graphic and may be disturbing to some. Please read/watch with discretion.

CHANDLER, Ariz. – In recent weeks, we've done several reports on acts of suspected animal and adult abuse at a home in Chandler.

The case revolves around the owner of a rescue called the Special Needs Animal Welfare League (SNAWL), which was run out of a home near Cooper and Pecos roads. Chandler Police found dozens of animals on the premises on Sept. 22 in poor health and in "unbreathable" conditions.

Since the discovery, police recommended dozens of animal cruelty charges, along with a vulnerable abuse charge, against April McLaughlin, a 48-year-old who has used several aliases in the past, including "April Addison" and "Sydney McKinley."

However, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced not long after it sent the case back to Chandler Police for further review and charges against her have been dropped for now.

As police continue to investigate McLaughlin and her alleged role in the abuses, one question remains: what did conditions actually look like inside McLaughlin's home?

A 14-page report is giving up some answers.

'I’ve never seen anything like this'

The report, which is called an "After Action Report," was sent to the City of Chandler the day after the animals were seized.

An environmental consulting company contracted by the city of Chandler, named Clark Seif Clark (CSC), completed the After Action Report, and it painted a picture of what the home looked like.

The report called McLaughlin’s home a "biohazard."

Rescuers like Koco Garcia initially thought SNAWL was a legitimate organization.

"There’s just no escape," Garcia said. "I’ve never seen anything like this."

There’s one bathroom and inside of it is an unusable toilet. The only one in the home and it's blocked.

Garcia said so many people have called the property by a rather ominous name: "The House of Horrors."

To her, that's an understatement.

The report contains a diagram of the scene, a 956-square-foot home, which consists of two bedrooms and a bathroom. According to the report, windows were closed, and mobility, along with visibility, was impeded by excessive clutter, wet and dry feces, urine, and dog food everywhere.

Photos also show carpets covered in waste and disabled dogs lying on filthy floors.

"To watch those animals laying in their own feces, overcrowded, walking over each other, crawling, begging for help, locked in kennels they haven’t been out of," Garcia said.

Images of the bathroom displayed a soiled floor and other damages, as well as a toilet that was blocked off and unusable.

According to the report, some of the dogs were in kennels and some were loose in different rooms. Five small dogs found dead in the kitchen freezer were wrapped in paper.

The home's garage is shown to be filled with boxes and crates. The report also states the garage opener didn't work and a room inside the garage was inaccessible with debris piled up against the door.

CSC says the room didn't appear on the county assessor's record.

Garcia wishes she could've saved the struggling dogs she saw in the backyard long before police finally came with a search warrant.

"Walking away from that and not doing things myself is the biggest regret I have in this situation right now," she said.

‘…  the worst kind of hell …’

A photo in the report also shows an elevated level of ammonia measured: 61 parts per million (PPM) caused by the high concentration.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the recommended exposure limit for ammonia is 25 ppm, averaged for an eight-hour workday.

It reportedly took hours just to ventilate the home with battery-powered fans. Chandler Fire’s HAZMAT Team was suited up in protective gear when they removed the dogs from the home.

In the report, the investigator deemed the house a biohazard due to so many pets, the accumulation of dog urine and hoarded items.

Currently, the Arizona Humane Society has nearly 50 dogs remaining in its care, and McLaughlin is requesting to get 47 dogs back into her custody. Her court hearing to petition for the custody of 47 dogs is set for Oct. 11.

"Is this ever going to end?" Garcia asked. "It just feels like this is the worst kind of hell."

‘They’re moneymakers'

Under Arizona law, a person commits animal cruelty if they, among other things, "intentionally, knowingly or recklessly subjects any animal under the person's custody or control to cruel neglect or abandonment."

"A lot of these problem houses say they’re rescues, but they really aren’t," said Arizona State Sen. John Kavanagh. "They’re moneymakers for the person in the house who takes in too many animals."

He represents the state's 3rd Legislative District, which covers certain communities north of Phoenix and Scottsdale, as well as rural portions of northeastern Maricopa County.

He says he’s seen animal hoarding issues for a while.

While he sees no problem with the current statute, Sen. Kavanagh said law enforcement needs tools to gather enough evidence to enforce the law.

He's working on new legislation to propose next session that aims to provide more training for law enforcement to identify animal abuse, more resources for code enforcement, and oversight of rescue operations.

"Now this is touchy because nobody wants to be regulated, and I’m talking to some people in the humane animal community whom I’ve worked with closely for the last 15 years about what kind of regulation would not be onerous but would give authorities the right to make occasional inspections," said State Sen. Kavanagh.

Where is Marbles?

Garcia, meanwhile, said that out of all the dogs seized, there’s no record of the one she gave to McLaughlin: a blind dog named Marbles.

The images she's seen of the home cause her to think the worst.

"Some days, I think there’s no way he survived, and he was probably just a discarded dog that she tossed. I don’t know," Garcia said.

There is a growing reward for the safe return of Marbles. You can call 928-473-1028 to provide information on his whereabouts – no questions asked.

We've reached out to McLaughlin several times, but she hasn't responded.

Watch the full interview with McLaughlin's mother

The last time Kathleen McLaughlin spoke with her daughter April was on the morning of Sept. 22, hours prior to her arrest.

Kathleen, 79, moved to Arizona from Texas after her husband's passing and trusted April to care for her. She said she was relieved to be out of the home.

Kathleen reportedly lived at the home for three years, seemingly hidden. According to her, April couldn’t stop bringing in dogs.

"Well apparently, she began to get an awful lot of more dogs," Kathleen said. "The two bedrooms were full of dogs, so we weren’t able to sleep there. She had some in the backyard, and she bought tents for shade, and it became obvious that the terrific heat wave wasn’t conducive to their comfort, so she’d have to bring them into the garage."