SALEM, Ohio — The owner of the former Pure Gold Stables is facing multiple criminal charges stemming from the discovery of four dead horses on the property in Salem last October.
In Columbiana County Municipal Court on May 8, the State of Ohio charged Heather J. Birkmire, of Lisbon, Ohio, with five counts of cruelty to animals and four counts of violating rules governing the disposition of dead or destroyed animals. As a condition of her bond, which was set at $5,000, Birkmire may not keep a companion animal of any kind.
What happened
The charges follow an investigation that began last fall at the stables after a farrier discovered a gruesome scene: the skeletal remains of four horses locked inside a round pen.
A Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office report detailed that the wooden enclosures housing the horses were covered with teeth marks, indicating the animals had apparently tried to chew through the wood. Buckets inside the pens contained only remnants of straw. The decomposed horses were still draped in winter blankets, suggesting they had died months earlier, likely the previous winter.
A horse trainer who had been preparing to lease the facilities from Birkmire contacted law enforcement about the remains. She told investigators she believed the horses had been locked inside and left to starve. The case was referred to the Columbiana County Humane Society and the Columbiana County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
When deputies and a Humane Society investigator returned to the property the day after the remains were discovered, they were met at the front gate by what the report described as a “very nervous” Birkmire. She reportedly agreed to allow authorities onto the property, but the tour stalled when she said she couldn’t find the keys needed to access the area where the horse remains were located. A deputy later noted that although a chain and padlock were on the gate, they were not actually locked; the chain had simply been looped over a bolt, allowing the gate to be opened.
The sheriff’s report notes that Birkmire acknowledged the trainer had entered the round pen and found the horses there, and that she had not given the trainer access to that building.
Birkmire reportedly told authorities she believed the horses had been poisoned and that they “all died around the same time.” She mentioned a former employee who may have had an issue with her but did not offer specific evidence to support the claim.
Since the investigation began, property records show that Birkmire has expanded her real estate holdings in Columbiana County. In June of last year, a 128‑acre equestrian estate known as His Way Farm LLC — marketed as a secluded horse farm with an indoor riding arena, multiple outbuildings, fenced pastures, tillable ground and a pond — went up for auction. By Oct. 10, just weeks before the horse remains were discovered at Pure Gold, county records listed Jeremy R. Sipple and Birkmire as the new owners of the Lisbon‑area property.
The case has been assigned to Judge Danielle Menning, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Aug. 5 in Columbiana County Municipal Court.
