Virginia Zoo Giraffe Drama: Missing Babies Recovered, Multiple Trials Ordered

[00:00:00]All right, I want to move on now. This is a bizarre story about giraffes in that some one had one has died then they they went missing. Now they've been found, but we don't know exactly where or how they've been found. All of this is this all this started under when Glenn Youngkin was governor and Jason Miyares was the attorney general.

[00:00:25]And this is a the story is is always been a bizarre one, but there's been late some developments in it. I want to get into this now. This is from the Cardinal News. Natural Bridge Zoo case will lead to three separate trials, the judge rules.

[00:00:39]The case involving the Natural Bridge Zoo will spawn at least three separate trials, some of which may not come until next year. Confronting with a sprawling case that involves five defendants, overlapping charges with and more than 70 animals, a Rockbridge County judge on Wednesday said he'd split the case into three trials. One against the three members of the Morgenson family that has owned the zoo, one against a former elephant handler, and one against a veterinarian accused of forging a document related to the Asha the elephant. We got elephants, we got giraffes, we've got a zoo. This story is a zoo, stick with me. No trial dates were set, but the judge and multiple attorneys, so many that some of them had to sit in the spectator section of the courtroom, agreed to return on August 3rd to hear various motions. Trial dates and the order in which the trials will happen may be set then. Attorney Chris Kowal Kowalchuk, who represents zoo manager Gretchen Morgenson, said the trials will likely start this year, but some could spill over into 2027.

[00:01:49]The logistics of the case occupied much of a two-hour hearing in circuit court on Wednesday. Kowalchuk said the complexity of the case rivaled that some of he what some of what he's seen in federal court. The state attorney general's office, which is prosecuting the case, argued for a single case, which product prosecutor Michelle Welch said she expects to take 3 weeks.

[00:02:12]Kowalczyk thought it might take 2 weeks.

[00:02:15]With three separate trials, it's unclear how long each case will take, although the lawyer for the veterinarian, Ashley Spencer, said the case against his client could be dispensed with in a day.

[00:02:28]At least seven defense attorneys were present in the courtroom, and there could be an additional ones for trial.

[00:02:34]They lamented that their clients would be disadvantaged in a single trial because not all of the attorneys would be able to sit together at a single defense table. The attorneys for Spencer and former elephant handler Mark Easley said the charges against their client compromise only a small part of the case against the Morgansons, and a grand and a jury might be prejudiced against their clients if they had to hear unrelated testimony.

[00:02:58]Judge Christopher Russell agreed. When he was assigned to the complexity came when mult when multiple lawyers were standing up to lawyers were standing up to join in a particular objection.

[00:03:09]One quickly sat down and whispered that if he'd forgotten his client and he wasn't charged on that count.

[00:03:15]The judge also said he'd issue a gag order to prevent most parties involved in the case, including the Attorney General's office, from giving interviews.

[00:03:24]The case began in December 2023 when the Attorney General's office, then under Jason Miyares, initiated a raid of the roadside zoo that seized animals as part of an animal rights investigation.

[00:03:37]A trial in March 2024 awarded custody of most of those animals to the state.

[00:03:43]The Morgansons were allowed to keep the rest of the zoo, but the zoo is now closed.

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[00:04:25]In February 2026, a Rockbridge County grand jury indicted three members of the Morgenson family, the veterinarian and the former elephant handler on various charges. In all, there were 55 misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty.

[00:04:39]The veterinarian and two Morgensons were also indicted on felony counts of forging a public document.

[00:04:46]A separate criminal investigation is underway regarding the zoo's giraffes.

[00:04:50]While the other animals removed during the initial raid, the zoo's four giraffes were too big to move.

[00:04:57]And they have been the subject of separate court proceedings. Two of the giraffes were also pregnant. During a state inspection in April 2025, the two females were found to be no longer pregnant, but the offspring were nowhere in sight.

[00:05:13]This is bizarre. This is This is I told you, this story just keeps punching.

[00:05:17]It's It's bizarre.

[00:05:18]That led to more court battles with the Morgensons insisting that any offsprings were their property.

[00:05:26]But the court eventually ruled the missing baby giraffes belonged to the state. The Attorney General's office opened a criminal investigation into their disappearance, and Gretchen Morgenson later served 100 days in jail for contempt for refusing to disclose their whereabouts.

[00:05:45]Well, they've been found because on Tuesday, Attorney General Jay Jones announced that the baby giraffes have been recovered safely, but gave no details where or how they were found, citing the ongoing criminal investigation. Please protect those giraffes. Please do not anger Jay Jones.

[00:06:04]You know how he gets.

[00:06:06]You know how Jay two bullets Jay Jones gets when he's angry.

[00:06:11]Please spare the children. Spare the giraffes.

[00:06:17]Starting in the fall 2024 and ending in spring 2025, the state moved three of the zoo's adult giraffes to the state to the Georgia Safari Conservation Park in Madison, Georgia.

[00:06:30]One adult giraffe died in route, which has also been the subject of an investigation because of the drugs it was administered before taking it there.

[00:06:40]On Wednesday, the park confirmed that the baby giraffes are now there as well, but did not release any information on how they were interacting with the other animals.

[00:06:51]In a statement to Cardinal News, the park said on Monday, June 15th, they said they really can't comment on the issue because they are it's under investigation.

[00:07:00]Other than to say that both giraffes are under the expert care of the park's animal expert care team and they are acclimating well, unquote.

[00:07:12]It's a bizarre bizarre story and to this we don't know who tipped off Meriah Harris's office to this animal cruelty investigation, but this is one thing has just blossomed and ballooned up in into another and this is a bizarre case.

[00:07:33]Uh I'm glad Dwayne Yancey is all over this because Dwayne has been going to court, watching this case, covering it from the the and we do appreciate his reporting. This is one of those weirder news stories that has garnered much attention statewide. Dwayne Yancey Cartel News, thanks for thanks for reporting on this.

[00:07:54]What do you think about all this? Is this something that needs more scrutiny, these animal abuse cases? Do you think that the state is should be taking their time to work on these types of cases? Let me know in the comments. Wild story. Please like, share, and subscribe and we'll see you on the next one.