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SPANISH FORK, Utah (AP) - A Utah judge has ordered a public auction to sell off 40 horses seized from a woman and her son in an animal cruelty case at a ranch in Spanish Fork.
Fourth District Judge Fred Howard granted a motion from the Utah County Attorney's Office on Tuesday to order the sale of nearly half of the 100 horses owned by Trudy and Rory Childs.
They are scheduled to appear in court on June 11 for a preliminary hearing on 20 counts each of cruelty to an animal.
The Daily Herald (http://tinyurl.com/bqeq4mo ) reports the auction is scheduled May 25 at the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds.
Deputies say a dozen of the Childs' horses died of starvation in recent months and dozens more were so malnourished they couldn't stand.