EVANSVILLE — There will be no trial for alleged serial animal abuser Shayna Burko, who may plead guilty to her latest felony charges without a plea deal with Warrick County prosecutors.
At the same time, prosecutors in Vanderburgh County are still pushing for revocation of Burko’s probation in a separate animal cruelty case there. That could add as much as two years to whatever prison time she may get in the Warrick County case.
Tuesday was to be Burko’s trial date for her Warrick County charges, three Level 6 felony counts of cruelty to an animal. But MyCase, an online database of records from civil and criminal cases within the Indiana court system, states that the trial was canceled because of an “agreed resolution.”
A change of plea hearing — Burko had pleaded not guilty — and sentencing are set for June 1.
Deputy Prosecutor Jon Schaefer declined to comment on the trajectory of the case, citing Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys that prohibit extrajudicial comments on pending cases. Barry Blackard, Burko’s attorney, did not return a message seeking comment.
MyCase doesn’t say whether Burko will plead guilty as charged or to reduced charges. Nor does it say she will plead with or without a recommendation from prosecutors.
But there are clues. Schaefer said in November that he wasn’t open to the idea of a plea bargain with Burko. The Vanderburgh Humane Society has made clear it regards Burko’s alleged crimes as heinous and especially disturbing.
The Courier & Press intended to ask defense attorney Blackard whether Burko plans to plead guilty as charged in hopes of drawing a more lenient sentence in exchange for not forcing a jury trial.
If Burko does plead guilty without a plea deal on June 1 in Warrick County, she will be pleading to three Level 6 felony counts, each of which is punishable by six to 30 months in prison.
It’s the 30-year-old Burko’s history that makes her case stand out to prosecutors and animal welfare advocates. She has two previous animal cruelty convictions — one of which left Vanderburgh County prosecutors sputtering in frustration.
Burko’s history looms over her case
It started in February 2018 with five counts of cruelty to an animal filed against Burko in Warrick County. A year later, she pleaded guilty to three Class A misdemeanor counts and the other two counts were dismissed.
Burko received a suspended jail sentence and a year of probation, court records show.
“Terms and conditions of probation are that the defendant shall get no new criminal arrests, charges, or cases; shall not own or be around any vertebrate animals with the exception of her grandmother’s German shepherd; and shall show proof of continued mental health treatment,” states MyCase.
Burko’s second conviction for animal cruelty came in 2023, when she pleaded guilty to seven felony-level counts of cruelty to an animal in a case involving malnourished and dismembered animals that were found in her care. The prosecutor’s office reported officers found “a (dead) German Shepherd in a kennel with bags of dog food next to it, a decapitated dog, a dog missing a paw (but still alive), and a dog limb found in a hallway.”
Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers sought prison time for Burko, noting her prior animal cruelty conviction, violation of bail conditions and “the egregiousness of the crime itself.”
But Magistrate Judge Ryan C. Reed sentenced Burko to two years of probation. Burko was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation, her sentencing document shows. Reed also ordered her to “not to possess any animals on her own” other than one service animal.
Burko was charged yet again in January 2025 — this time with three counts of cruelty to an animal, a Level 6 felony because of her previous convictions. That’s the case in which she will be sentenced on June 1.
Burko’s mother, Kimberley Burko, who shared a home with her, was hit with the same charges. Kimberley Burko’s jury trial is set for July 7.
According to a news release at the time from Warrick County Sheriff Mike Wilder, deputies were dispatched to a home in the 7700 block of Maeylyn Court to serve a warrant stemming from an animal cruelty complaint.
There, they reportedly found and eventually removed “approximately 20 dogs, two birds, two turtles, three sugar gliders (gliding possums), one cat, two bearded dragons, one gecko and a tank of beta fish.” They also found a “dead turtle, dead guinea pigs and fish.”
“The ammonia smell inside the home was strong enough to cause a burning sensation to (officers’) eyes, noses and throats,” Wilder wrote.
Court records show that in court in November, Warrick County prosecutors “request(ed) that a condition of Defendant’s (Shayna Burko’s) bond be that she is to have absolutely no animals in her possession/control.”
‘She keeps doing this’
Moers is still incredulous that Burko got probation after pleading guilty to seven felony-level counts of cruelty to an animal in 2023. The prosecutor filed a petition to revoke Burko’s probation on Jan. 22, 2025, the same day her current charges in Warrick County were filed.
As of Monday, Vanderburgh County prosecutors had an April 28 hearing date before Magistrate Reed on their petition to revoke, but that date may change. It was set when Burko’s trial was scheduled for April 14.
Winston Lin, Moers’ chief deputy, said Monday that whatever prison time Burko gets if Reed ultimately revokes her probation — it could be as much as the full probationary period of two years minus two days “good time” — could come in addition to whatever sentence she receives at her June 1 hearing in Warrick County.
The evidentiary burden to grant a petition to revoke probation is lower than it is in a criminal trial, when prosecutors must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The burden is only to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation occurred.
In October, Superior Court Magistrate Molly Briles sentenced Evansville resident Martin Haugland to a year in jail on 10 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to an animal, an unusually stiff sentence. Moers had argued that Haugland’s offenses were egregious and outrageous.
Moers’ office never offered a deal to Haugland and in fact, the prosecutor cited his case in a successful push to change state law to allow Indiana prosecutors to charge severe animal neglect as a felony for the first time.
Lin said prosecutors hold a “sincere hope” that this time Burko goes to prison.
“I think she’s noteworthy because she keeps doing it,” he said. “She’s a prolific repeat offender — versus Haugland, it was a one-time thing, so to speak.
“This woman — she keeps doing this. I don’t think she’ll ever learn a lesson unless severe penalties are imposed.”
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Alleged Tri-State serial animal abuser may be headed to prison
Reporting by Thomas B. Langhorne, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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