EUCLID -- Maybe Dorothy Richardson was scared, or maybe she was protecting her flower garden. Whatever the reason, the 75-year-old Euclid woman is accused of beating a fawn to death.

Richardson faces charges of animal cruelty from the incident, which occurred June 15 at her home near the Cleveland Metroparks Euclid Creek Reservation.

"Everybody's very upset over this," said Euclid Animal Control officer Ann Mills, who requested the warrant. "This is my first for a beating like that -- it makes you sick to your stomach, you know?"

Witnesses told Mills that Richardson beat the young deer in the head with a shovel because it was sitting in her flower bed.

None of the witnesses who provided statements to police could be reached for comment Tuesday. That includes Euclid City Councilman Christopher Gruber.

Tuesday evening, a woman matching Richardson's description adjusted an automatic sprinkler on her property. When asked if Richardson was home, the woman offered the business card of Gregory Thomas, a Cleveland attorney. Thomas did not respond to a call seeking comment.

Neighbors, some who declined to give their names, described Richardson as an amiable woman who tends to her garden. Some were surprised to hear the details of what she is accused of doing.

"That doesn't sound right," said a neighbor who called Richardson friendly and churchgoing. "That is just not like her."

But another neighbor who made a statement to police said that he overheard her discussing the killing with another resident.

" 'I killed it -- I killed it dead,' " he recalled her saying, because she had worked hard on her plants. "And I'd kill it again." He said he was sympathetic to the attention the incident created.

Clifford Johnson, another neighbor, said, "She's scared, she's 75, she made a horrible mistake, but it's gotten to the point where people are calling her and talking about killing her."

Johnson was listed in the police report under the heading "others involved," but he could not explain why.

The city's cruelty to animals charge is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Euclid Law Director Chris Frey said Tuesday that he plans to add a state cruelty charge, which is a second-degree misdemeanor, to give the judge more sentencing options, considering Richardson's age. The state charge is punishable by a maximum 90 days in jail and $750 fine.

Frey said he has received dozens of e-mails from across the country urging him to prosecute the case to its fullest.

But some neighbors said that the outrage is overblown and that details of the incident have been exaggerated.

"She shoved it on the shoulder and the deer fell over," said another neighbor, who has spoken to Richardson and did not want to give her name. "You have to understand where she comes from -- she's a country girl."

Female deer leave their fawns in secluded spots while they forage for food. The fawns avoid being eaten by predators by remaining still until their mothers return. Young fawns are still nursing and do not eat flowers and other foliage, Division of Wildlife spokeswoman Jamey Graham said.

Plain Dealer reporter Donna J. Miller contributed to this story.