Community rallies to help animals left behind after family killed in murder-suicide

0
4330
Michelle Hunt and her horse, Maggie (left). Cody Hunt and his father, Bill, on a trail ride (right). (Submitted photo)

SALEM, Ohio — It’s stressful to rehome one animal, let alone more than 70 of them. But that’s just what a group of friends did after the sudden and tragic loss of a farm family in rural Beaver County, Pennsylvania last week.

“Within 12 hours, every single animal on that farm was spoken for,” said family friend Judie Mammone. “It goes to show what type of people Michelle and Bill were.”

Clifford “Bill” Hunt Sr., 51; Michelle Hunt, 48; Clifford “CJ” Hunt Jr., 18, and Cody Hunt, 16, were shot Jan. 12 at their North Sewickley Township home.

Police said it appears that CJ shot his parents and younger brother before turning the gun on himself. Michelle and Bill were found dead when police officers arrived. The teens were airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital in grave condition but died Jan. 13.

The Hunts left behind not only grieving loved ones, but also four horses, two dogs, a few cats, several dozen chickens and a handful of ducks, turkeys and geese. Still in shock, friends gathered at the house Jan. 13 to make sure the animals had good homes to go to.

“Bill and Michelle loved their animals wholly,” Mammone said. “They were a huge part of their lives. When I heard about what happened, I knew the animals were the first thing Michelle would have wanted to make sure they were OK.”

Animals

Autumn Ashurst-Stang met Michelle only two weeks before the shooting but said the two became fast friends. They met via Facebook over ducks. Ashurst-Stang had ducks she needed to rehome, and Michelle reached out to say she was interested.

“She completely loved her animals, and that was apparent to me from the get-go,” Ashurst-Stang said.

Ashurst-Stang had dropped off the ducks at Michelle’s house just hours before the shooting occurred. When she heard about what happened, she knew she had to go back for the ducks and see how else she could help. That’s when she connected with Mammone and other friends who stepped up to help.

Mammone took the four horses and the turkeys. Ashurst-Stang took the ducks and half of the 50 or so chickens. Another friend took the rest of the chickens and the geese. The dogs and cats also found homes with trusted friends.

“I knew Michelle could not rest until her babies were cared for,” Ashurst-Stang said.

Family

Bill and Michelle moved to the farm in North Sewickley in 2021, from a nearby suburb. It was a dream for their family who enjoyed the outdoors and their animals.

Mammone met Michelle when they both boarded horses at the same stable before they had their own farms. When Mammone bought her place in North Lima, she said, “Michelle was the first one here with house-warming gifts and walking through the barn with me.”

Michelle and Cody were the horse people in the family. Bill and CJ preferred motorcycles and dirt bikes.

Bill, a “larger than life” U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was a bit scared of riding horses, Mammone said, but he had a dream to go on a trail ride with Cody because riding was so important to his son. So a couple of years ago, Mammone taught Bill how to ride. He took lessons for four days straight at Mammone’s farm.

“The fourth day, he brought Cody here, and we went on a 45-minute trail ride,” she said. “And in the end, he had tears in his eyes, and he gave me the biggest hug and thanked me.”

Mammone said Bill and Michelle loved their children “with everything in them.” There are few details available about the shooting, and the motive still isn’t clear. Even given what police said happened, Mammone said CJ isn’t a monster.

“Even knowing CJ did it, my heart breaks for him,” Mammone said. “I can’t understand. Am I upset that he did it? Yes, but how bad was he hurting that he felt like he had to do that? I just want to hug him.”

Friends

Almost all the animals were moved off the farm the day after the shooting, save for a few chickens that couldn’t be caught. Ashurst-Stang said they made trips back to the farm a few times to catch the stragglers.

Ashurst-Stang also created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to pay for the Hunt family’s funeral expenses. The effort reached its goal of $40,000 within four days.

She’s also been collecting monetary donations and donations of feed, bedding and other pet supplies for the Hunt family’s animals in their new homes. Donations are also being accepted at Tractor Supply in Chippewa Township, Diamond Milling in New Brighton and Reed’s Services in Ellwood City.

“We are part of such an amazing community,” Ashurst-Stang said. “You ask for help and they will answer the call.”

Taking in four new horses without notice hasn’t been easy, but it was the least she could do to help, Mammone said. She’s keeping the horses together for the foreseeable future. They’re getting by through the winter with donated hay, grain and bedding.

“I wish I could do more,” she said. “I miss my friends.”

NO COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY