Victims accuse veterinary student of selling missing rehomed horses for slaughter

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BLOUNT COUNTY – A Tuskegee University veterinary student is facing charges, accused of taking horses with promises to rehome and care for them and instead they come up missing. The previous owners believe she sold them to slaughter houses.

Fallon Danielle Blackwood, 24, of Boaz, was arrested at a weekend rodeo in Blount County, according to our news partners at AL.com. A 13-count indictment charges Blackwood with bringing horses into Alabama obtained by false pretense. It’s the second time she’s been charged with similar crimes. Court documents show Blackwood was also arrested in April, charged as a fugitive from justice on a similar warrant from North Carolina.

One victim listed in the indictment spoke with AL.com, saying she was contacted by Blackwood after posting an ad to find a new home for her horse. Georgia resident Lindsay Rosentrater told AL.com she began looking for a new home for her 15-year-old horse, named Willie, after learning that she was expecting. Fearing that she could not afford the cost of proper care for Willie, she said, “I felt like I didn’t have the time he truly deserved so I went out in search of a forever and loving retirement home for him… I posted an ad to my personal Facebook page, horse related Facebook groups and Craigslist.”

Rosentrater says she was soon contacted by Blackwood, who arranged a meeting in Jan. of 2018. That same day, she said Blackwood took possession of Willie with an agreement to return him if Blackwood could no longer care for him. But after attempts to check on Willie in the following weeks with little or no response, Rosentrater said she became suspicious. She told AL.com that an acquaintance who works with a horse rescue organization immediately recognized Blackwood’s name. “She pulls up Facebook and a private rescue group had flagged her name for doing business will kill-buyers,’’ Rosentrater said. “I immediately started bawling my eyes out.”

Rosentrater started a Facebook page titled “Finding Willie.” She say the response was overwhelming, with many reporting similar dealings with Blackwood. She and many other horse owners have not learned the fate of their animals. Rosentrater says there are almost 50 missing horse reports in six states and reports continue to come in as media exposure grows.

Blackwood is out of the Blount County Jail after posting a $15,000 bond.

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