David White, Paula Moctezuma appear in Kenosha Co. court

KENOSHA CO. (WITI) -- David White and Paula Moctezuma, the owners of a farm where dozens of animals were found dead or neglected, appeared in a Kenosha County court for what was supposed to be their initial appearance on Tuesday, May 14th.

While the couple was in court, they were not represented. They requested more time to secure legal representation -- and that request was granted. The court then adjourned the initial appearance until Thursday, May 23rd.

More than 20 horses were rescued from the couple's Pleasant Prairie farm on 128th St. The remains of 55 more were discovered in mass graves on the property. Dozens more animals were also recovered from the farm.

FOX6 News has learned of 18 reports regarding the farm over the last decade. 16 of those are complaints were about the farm’s horses.  Several were made anonymously. Police were told the horses were skinny, malnourished and treated badly. But time and time again, police reported no evidence of mistreatment.

Police say until recently, they hadn’t found enough evidence to issue a search warrant of the entire property — and around 2012, David and Paula stopped allowing officers to set foot on the farm.

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