ASHLAND -- A woman is facing animal cruelty charges after she killed two roosters in Schuylkill County.
At the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine in Ashland, it's quieter than usual. Normally, two roosters could be heard belting out a sunrise crow or seen roaming the roads at the tourist attraction.
However, the 'Brother Roosters,' who were always seen together, were recently shot and killed.
"These two roosters would follow you around they would go down to open up," said Tony Loftus.
Loftus works at the Pioneer Tunnel and says about a year ago the roosters were donated to the tunnel. They replaced a former beloved rooster and hen known as 'Big Red' and 'Anne-thracite', who died of natural causes.
"Normally when I come in the morning to fire up the steam locomotive. The roosters would be crowing when the sun comes up. I know I will probably miss that," said Loftus.
That crowing is what caused their death a few weeks ago. According to police, Jenna Caso, 21, was sleeping in a home on Walnut Street when she heard the roosters crowing just after 6 in the morning. She then shot them three times.
Court documents show that after Caso shot the two roosters, a witness ran up to her and yelled, 'Why did you do that?' Caso replied simply, 'They woke me up.' Then, she went back into her home.
"That seems pretty extreme," said Samantha Kinkaid.
Kinkaid lives on the other side of Walnut Street and saw the roosters often, she's among those who thought the animals were part of the community.
"They seemed to be like farm animals they never bothered anybody. I never heard of them attacking anybody. They seemed pretty friendly," said Kinkaid.
Ashland Police charged Jenna Caso with misdemeanor animal cruelty and reckless endangerment. Her case now has to go through the courts.
Police added that they had never received a complaint about the roosters by anyone in Ashland including Caso.
