Fountain City man charged with concealing corpse, animal cruelty

BUFFALO COUNTY, Wis. (WEAU) — A Fountain City man has been charged with concealing a dead body, as well as various animal cruelty charges.

The criminal complaint shows Arthur McMullin, 69, is charged with concealing a corpse, cruelty to animals, cruelty to animals, obstructing an officer, failure to provide adequate food and drink to an animal in custody, failure to provide adequate food and drink to an animal in custody, do not provide adequate food and water for the animals that are kept, and do not provide adequate food and water for the animals.

According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 23, 2024, authorities were set to serve eviction notices to two tenants of a home located at 26 Court Lane in Fountain City.

There, authorities contacted Arthur McMullin, who said the other tenant was not home.

After several additional attempts to contact the other resident of the home, McMullin said the other resident had been dead for about six weeks.

The police then found the woman dead on the bathroom floor.

According to the criminal complaint, McMullin said she could have died of a heart attack and he didn’t want to deal with the situation yet. McMullin also told authorities the victim said she was not feeling well the day she died and may have fallen off the toilet.

The criminal complaint says McMullin believed there were 12 dogs and 30 cats in the home. McMullin told investigators he knew the house was not properly maintained and he was at risk of losing all his animals. McMullin said he ran out of food to feed the animals, but fed them scraps from handouts. Humane Association of Buffalo County, Humane Association of Trempealeau County and Tails of Hope were called to the scene to help remove the animals.

After further investigation, authorities concluded that there were even more animals in the home than McMullin claimed.

According to the criminal complaint, investigators found two carcasses or skeletons of animals in the house, presumably two cats.

Conditions at the home were appalling and neglected, the criminal complaint said.

McMullin signed over ownership of all the animals he owned.

Authorities told McMullin that an autopsy would be performed on the victim.

Online court records show McMullin is being held on a $10,000 cash bond.

Online court records also show that a hearing has been set for Nov. 1, 2024.