BROOKS COUNTY, Ga. – Brooks County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Joe Wheeler described it, “I believe it’s the worst case of hoarding we’ve ever seen.”

Last week in Quitman deputies were alerted to a strong smell of death coming from a residence on Oliff Road.

When Brooks County Sheriff’s deputies entered the property where Brenda Sutton, 72, resided, a total of 21 dead cats and dogs were found – 17 inside and four more outside. Sutton was taken into custody last Wednesday.

There were no living animals on the property.

Chief Deputy Wheeler said that Sutton, who is currently being held in the Brooks County Jail, will be undergoing psych evaluation. “She had been sleeping in her work vehicle,” Wheeler said, adding that she works for a transport agency and was living in the van, presumably because the rental residence was nearly completely blocked off from entering.

Deputies had to shove their way into the home and were not able to make easy passage through because of the excessive clutter. “She told the deputy, ‘you just don’t know the right paths,'” Wheeler said.

“It’s just an extreme case of hoarding,” Chief Deputy Wheeler emphasized on Tuesday. “She would go to the store and couldn’t get in the car.”

Wheeler said the animals were in cages inside the house, which he said he thought indicated she had collected strays the same way she did things. “I think she probably did it with good intentions but it just got out of hand,” Wheeler said. “It’s still under investigation so we just don’t know, we don’t know why she would do something like this, but I think it’s that she had the intention of caring for them but for whatever reason she could not and it led to this situation.”

Sutton will be indicted on 21 charges of aggravated cruelty to animals.