A grand jury has issued dozens of animal cruelty and other indictments against five people connected to the Natural Bridge Zoo, Rockbridge County Circuit Court documents show.
Deborah L. Mogensen, Gretchen “Sasha” Mogensen, Karl E. Mogensen and Mark E. Easley face a combined 55 misdemeanor animal cruelty counts stemming from a December 2023 raid that the state attorney general’s Animal Law Unit conducted at the zoo.
A veterinarian associated with the zoo, Ashley Spencer, was also indicted in the Feb. 2 grand jury session, on three felony counts of public records forgery. Gretchen Mogensen and Deborah Mogensen each face two felony counts of forging a public record.
The case has gained national attention since the raid, during which officers seized 100 living animals, along with dead animals and body parts from the roadside zoo. A jury decided that 71 would remain in state custody, while the zoo would continue to house 29 of them.
An adult giraffe later died in transport to Florida, and two baby giraffes have gone missing. Then-zoo manager Gretchen Mogensen, who now owns the attraction, has been jailed since October for refusing to reveal the baby giraffes’ location. She was scheduled for release on Friday on a 100-day contempt of court sentence.
Deborah Mogensen and Karl Mogensen, who owned the zoo at the time of the raid, were arrested on Tuesday and released on bail, according to online court records. Easley was listed as a fugitive. An arrest warrant was issued for Spencer, as well. Spencer, who worked at Blue Ridge Animal Clinic in Lexington, resigned her position in June 2025, according to the clinic.
The grand jury indicted Karl and Deborah Mogensen on 18 animal cruelty counts each. It handed down 16 counts against Gretchen Mogensen. Easley, whom People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has identified as the zoo’s elephant keeper, was indicted on one misdemeanor count of animal torture and two counts of overriding and overdriving an animal.
The elephant, named Asha, was no longer on the property when authorities, including Virginia State Police, animal control officers from several state jurisdictions and seven veterinarians, took part in the 2023 raid. A search warrant supporting the raid quoted a confidential informant who told authorities that Asha often stood in a puddle of her own urine and feces, shackled and unable to move.
The zoo had allowed nearly 200 guests to ride on her back in a single day and regularly permitted double riders, exceeding the allowable rider weight of 250 pounds, according to the search warrant. The keeper had told the confidential informant to spark fear in the animal by jabbing it with a sharp implement known as a bullhook, the warrant stated.
Virginia has since outlawed the use of bullhooks.
The elephant was transferred just before the raid to Two Tails Ranch, near Gainesville, Florida, according to veterinary documents.
PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said in a news release that the organization applauds the indictments and remains worried about the elephant and the missing giraffes, “who were among the dozens of animals whom a judge and jury found were subjected to cruel treatment or deprived of adequate care.”
The case received renewed national attention in November when actress Alicia Silverstone teamed with PETA to offer a $50,000 reward for information on the giraffes’ location.
Roanoke lawyers Tony Anderson and John Lichtenstein, who represented Gretchen Mogensen in her contempt case, did not return messages left with their respective offices on Thursday. A voicemail left Thursday evening for Aaron Cook, an attorney for Karl and Deborah Mogensen in the animal seizure case, was not returned.
Rae Pickett, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Jay Jones, said that office could not comment on pending legal matters. An attempt to reach former Attorney General Jason Miyares, whose office initiated the case, was unsuccessful.
Easley, who court records show has a Springfield, Missouri, address, and Spencer, the veterinarian with a Rockbridge Baths address, are scheduled for arrest warrant hearings on Feb. 17, according to online court records. Karl and Deborah Mogensen, both of Natural Bridge, are scheduled for attorney advisement hearings the same day, and Gretchen Mogensen, of Glasgow, will have an attorney hearing on Feb. 9.