SALEM, Ohio — The owner of the former Pure Gold Stables in Columbiana County is headed for trial on multiple criminal charges after investigators found the skeletal remains of four horses locked inside a round pen on the Salem property last fall.
The court set a status conference for 10:30 a.m. Oct. 28 in Columbiana County Municipal Court followed by a jury trial for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 12. Birkmire’s bond and all existing conditions, including restrictions on owning companion animals, remain in place as the case proceeds. According to an Aug. 31 pretrial hearing before Judge Danielle Menning, the prosecutor and defense lawyer have not yet reached any plea deal or agreement, so the case is moving forward.
On May 8, the State of Ohio charged Heather J. Birkmire, of Lisbon, with five counts of cruelty to animals and four counts of violating rules governing the disposition of dead or destroyed animals. According to the Columbiana County Prosecutor’s Office, necropsy results confirmed evidence of dehydration and starvation. The skeletal remains of a fifth horse were also recovered from a burn pit on the property. Birkmire’s bond was set at $5,000, with a condition that she may not keep any companion animal.
The charges stem from an investigation launched after a farrier discovered four dead horses confined in wooden enclosures at the former Pure Gold Stables. A report from the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office described teeth marks on the wood, suggesting the horses tried to chew their way out. Buckets in the pens contained only remnants of straw, and the decomposed horses were still wearing winter blankets, indicating they likely died months earlier, over the winter. The case was referred to the Columbiana County Humane Society and the county prosecutor for review.
When deputies and a Humane Society investigator returned to the property later, Birkmire met them at the gate and appeared “very nervous,” according to the report. Although she initially claimed she could not find keys to access the area with the remains, deputies soon observed that the gate was not actually locked. Birkmire told investigators she believed the horses had been poisoned and died around the same time, referencing a former employee but providing no specific evidence of their involvement.
