BOONVILLE, Ind. — Serial animal abuser Shayna Faye Burko was sentenced to four years in prison Monday afternoon in a crowded Warrick County courtroom.
Burko, 30, pleaded “guilty but mentally ill” to three Level 6 felony counts of cruelty to an animal — each count of which is punishable by six to 30 months in prison. She had no plea deal with prosecutors in Warrick County, who had said they were not willing to negotiate with her.
Four years is “the maximum aggregate sentence for consecutive sentences on certain Level 6 felony convictions” such as Burko’s, Deputy Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Jon Schaefer said.
Burko’s two previous animal cruelty convictions, the shocking nature of those crimes and the failure of a judge to put her behind bars after her most recent conviction made her case a flashpoint for outrage among animal welfare activists, many of whom showed up for her sentencing by Circuit Judge Greg A. Granger on Monday.
Staff and supporters of the Vanderburgh Humane Society had been vocal about Burko’s case on social media, given that employees had cared for some of the animals hurt in her past cases.
Burko’s criminal history with animals started in February 2018 with five counts of cruelty to an animal 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.
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 Vanderburgh County 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.”
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 on which she was sentenced Monday.
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.
On June 9, prosecutors in Vanderburgh County will get another shot at sending Burko to prison for the seven felony-level counts of cruelty to an animal for which she got probation in 2023. Their petition to revoke her probation will be heard by Magistrate Reed on that date.
Prosecutors have said 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 the sentence she received Monday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Tri-State serial animal abuser sentenced to prison
Reporting by Thomas B. Langhorne, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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