Greenwich woman arrested for unspeakable animal cruelty across multiple states

Marie Feniello, 65, a former Greenwich resident who lived on Bedford Road, is scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court on January 7, 2026. She faces multiple charges of animal cruelty and an additional charge of first-degree criminal trespass stemming from a separate incident in March 2025.

The core of the case dates back to November 2024, when Greenwich Police visited Feniello's Bedford Road home. What they found was a scene of horrific neglect: two Black Labs, Augie and Sawyer, had died from severe malnutrition. Necropsies later revealed the dogs had likely not eaten for at least 48 hours prior to their deaths. A third dog, Thatcher, was found alive but in critical condition, weighing only 37 pounds and suffering from seizures.

Officers described the unsanitary conditions throughout the home: two labs forced to share a single crate, another dog wearing a diaper, and several cats living among piles of debris.

Feniello's history of abuse is not an isolated incident; it is a decades-long pattern that spans four states. While living in Montclair, New Jersey, she was convicted of six counts of animal cruelty after authorities found five dogs and a cat in a feces-filled apartment. On November 16, 2025, she was arrested in Lyme, New Hampshire, for two counts of negligent animal cruelty — a direct violation of her Greenwich release bond, which prohibited her from owning animals. Just days after her New Hamplshisre arrest, Vermont State Police stopped her vehicle and found two cats in poor condition in a heavily soiled crate. She currently lists a residence in Bennington, Vermont.

Animal welfare groups have labeled Feniello a "multi-state animal cruelty offender," warning that she frequently moves to exploit the lack of communication between state judicial systems.

Feniello’s appearance in Stamford Superior Court next week is critical. Prosecutors will likely focus on the fact that she violated her Connecticut release conditions by being found with animals in New Hampshire and Vermont just months ago. This "interstate" defiance of the law may finally move her case from a simple cruelty charge to a more serious felony with significant prison time.

Between the Lines: Next week's hearing will be a test of whether the legal system can finally recognize a pattern of behavioral illness that no amount of fines or bonds has been able to cure.

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