Abigail Tuttle O’Keeffe, the 55-year-old former owner of Narrow Way Farm in Newtown, pleaded guilty to multiple animal cruelty charges tied to more than 100 animals abandoned at her Worthington Mill Road property in 2024. The plea comes nearly two years after Bucks County SPCA investigators found dead and dying livestock on the farm, and after O’Keeffe herself fled the country rather than face investigators in person.
O’Keeffe pleaded guilty to neglect of animals involving sustenance or water, shelter or protection, and veterinary care, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. She had faced dozens of animal cruelty charges, officials said, in what the Bucks County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals described as the largest case involving farm animal cruelty in the county’s history. Court filings detailed severe examples of harm, including an 8-month-old calf that suffered permanent eye nerve damage from a botched 2022 dehorning procedure, a goat that died on-site as the search warrant was executed in August 2024, and another goat that needed euthanasia after weeks of intensive care, per the Inquirer.
A Farm Marketed as a Petting-Zoo Getaway
Narrow Way Farm had advertised “sip and snuggle” afternoons where visitors could spend time with baby goats, a wholesome image that stood in stark contrast to what investigators eventually found. The Bucks County SPCA launched its cruelty investigation after receiving complaints, along with photos and videos, showing sick and dying animals — some goats appeared to have respiratory symptoms, and some lambs had foot scald, a contagious but treatable condition, according to the SPCA.
The farm sits on Worthington Mill Road in Newtown, on 37 acres O’Keeffe purchased in 2017 specifically to preserve the land from residential development, according to Patch. O’Keeffe holds a doctorate in developmental psychology and had worked as a university professor before starting the commercial operation; volunteers later told Patch she lacked the practical farming experience needed to run a working livestock facility.
Investigators Find Carcasses and Malnourished Animals
The Bucks County SPCA executed its initial search warrant at the farm on August 7, 2024, after a farm manager reported finding a dead sheep on the property, the Inquirer reported. Officials found dead animals at the site, and investigators discovered a makeshift composting area containing decaying carcasses along with evidence that livestock were being fed substandard by-products, according to NewtownPANow.com.
A state veterinarian who investigated the farm determined that multiple sheep and goats had suspected deaths caused by a heavy parasite load, and found that thin animals had been fed a poor diet. That parasite load was described as largely an environmental problem. In total, the SPCA helped more than 100 farm animals found living in filthy conditions, recovering 124 live animals — 58 goats, 49 chickens, 10 pigs, 5 sheep and 2 steers — in what officials called the largest farm animal rescue in county history, per the same NewtownPANow report.
A Text Message, Then a Flight Out of the Country
O’Keeffe refused direct in-person contact with law enforcement during the August 2024 investigation but surrendered legal ownership of all the farm’s animals to the SPCA via text message, letting authorities begin treating and rehoming them immediately. She had already left the country by the time of that exchange, officials said, departing without saying when or if she planned to return.
On December 31, 2024, Bucks County SPCA police filed 149 criminal counts against O’Keeffe, including two counts of aggravated animal cruelty causing serious injury or death alongside 148 counts of animal neglect; prosecutors later withdrew nine counts before the case moved to Common Pleas Court, the Inquirer reported. O’Keeffe was arrested for possession of a firearm in Benque Viejo, Belize in April 2025, on a charge unrelated to the Pennsylvania case. U.S. Marshals and Bucks County Sheriff’s Deputies took her into custody on September 19, 2025, when she arrived at Philadelphia International Airport following extradition, and she was returned to the United States and turned over to authorities in Bucks County.
Wellness Court Diversion Spares Prison Time
In October 2025, a Bucks County judge granted O’Keeffe nonmonetary bail with GPS monitoring over objections from county prosecutors, who argued she was a flight risk and should remain incarcerated, according to NewtownPANow.com. Defense counsel noted at the time that O’Keeffe had no prior criminal record and had agreed to surrender her animal care responsibilities.
O’Keeffe was ultimately admitted into Wellness Court, where officials placed a number of conditions on her going forward. Under the terms of her diversion program, she avoids prison time but must complete mandatory mental health and substance abuse counseling, and she now faces a permanent ban on owning or caring for animals, the Inquirer reported. Successful completion of the program will allow her to avoid a prison sentence entirely.
The case adds to a string of large-scale animal welfare enforcement actions by the Bucks County SPCA, which rescued 25 cats from a Bristol Township home earlier this year.
