Cathy Crighton, 44, has been charged with grand theft for allegedly stealing the horses and with dealing in stolen property for allegedly selling one of the Illinois horses to an unsuspecting buyer in Florida about two weeks ago.
he also is charged with theft of saddles and equestrian equipment found in her Wellington, Fla., condominium and in a stable where she kept the stolen horses, according to police.
Crighton applied Rust-Oleum paint to one horse's lower legs and face in an effort to obscure its identifying marks, police said.
The horses were recovered in Wellington last weekend, and the two animals from suburban Chicago headed home Wednesday by horse trailer, according to their owners.
Last Monday a Palm Beach County judge ordered that Crighton undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Results of an evaluation have not been made public.
Crighton is accused of stealing a Swedish Warmblood horse named Keller from an Orland Township stable and a horse named Scooby-Doo from Wilmington in September, and transporting them to Florida, where she kept them in rented stables.
On Jan. 21 she is alleged to have stolen a horse named San Diego from a stable in Wellington, an equestrian community in Palm Beach County.
(Chicago Tribune - March 6, 2003)
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