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Seen in The Nando Times on 11 March 1997

<b>Copyright 1997 Nando.net<br> Copyright 1997 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel </b> <p>

WAUKESHA, Wis. (Mar 11, 1997 00:43 a.m. EST) -- A woman accused of stomping her family's pet gerbil to death in front of her children was sentenced Monday to one year of probation. <p>

The incident was fueled by shock and anger over her husband's sudden pronouncement on the eve of their 18th-wedding anniversary that he never loved her and intended to divorce her, the 40-year-old woman's attorney said during the sentencing. <p>

Alcohol consumption also appeared to be "a main factor" in the episode, a prosecutor told Waukesha County Circuit Judge Roger Murphy. <p>

JoAnn Liban, of New Berlin, pleaded no contest Monday to one count of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, in the incident. In exchange for her plea, one count of mistreatment of animals, also a misdemeanor, was dropped. <p>

The woman was at a gathering at a relative's home with her two children on May 11 when her husband called, defense attorney Thomas Marola said. <p>

Thinking he was calling to tell her what they would be doing for their wedding anniversary the next day, the woman became distraught when instead he announced he was not in love with her, never did love her and planned to divorce her, Marola said. <p>

His client "certainly isn't proud" of the way she handled the news, Marola said. <p>

According to the criminal complaint, the woman got in her car with her two children and drove away, driving the car recklessly and frightening the children. <p>

The woman stopped at a bar and went inside, leaving the children in the car for 90 minutes before driving them home, the complaint says. <p>

When they arrived at home, they discovered the pet gerbil had escaped from its cage and was running around the house. When the woman picked up the gerbil, she squeezed it, prompting the animal to bite her hand. She threw it on the floor and stomped on it, killing it, according to the complaint. <p>

Marola, however, denied the woman stomped on the gerbil. He said it bit her twice and she threw it down. <p>

"I think the children may have perceived it differently," he told Murphy. <p>

The couple have since divorced, and the mother was awarded primary placement of the children, Marola said. <p>

The woman also underwent alcohol-abuse counseling, and the children received counseling, Marola said. <p>

"It appears to have been an isolated incident," Marola said of the May 11 events. <p>

Murphy ordered the woman to undergo further alcohol-abuse treatment if it is deemed necessary and warned her that if she violates probation she could go to jail. <p> Contact email address: acobley@mic.dundee.ac.uk