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Vacaville Doctor Accused Of Hoarding Dead Cats In Her Freezer

VACAVILLE (CBS13) - A Vacaville doctor has come under fire from the medical board for allegedly hoarding dead cats in her freezer.

The Kaiser Permanente physician is also accused of child endangerment after her son was removed from what investigators called "dirty" and "unsafe" conditions.

Is she still seeing patients? The short answer is no. Kaiser says Dr. Rebecca Darsey is no longer seeing patients but we still don't know how long that's been the case.

An eight-page complaint details an investigation that started in 2018. Dr. Darcey, a family medicine doctor in Yolo County, is said to have engaged in disturbing behavior.

State medical board documents reveal Darsey, whose bio is up on Kaiser's website, was facing 31 counts of animal cruelty and one count of child endangerment. Six dead kittens were found in her freezer and officers found 24 cats (six deceased), five dogs, and eight exotic birds on the property. The Yolo County District Attorney's Office declined to press criminal charges in the case.

Detectives with the sheriff's office also detailed the conditions at the physician's home back in 2019, saying there were, "birdcages full of excrement, dog kennels with feces in them, and three large cats running around on the counters of the kitchen."

Darsey's 10-year-old son was removed from the home after authorities say he: "was unable to sleep in his own room, due to it being used to house animals."

A medical board-ordered psychiatrist found the long-time doctor: "suffered from adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety disorder and depressed mood." And that the: "respondent was self-prescribing prednisone, Effexor, and Maxalt, and did not have a primary care provider that was monitoring her medical conditions."

The psychiatrist recommended ongoing monitoring saying: "The physician's continued practice does not pose a threat to public health at this time, but there is a risk that it could in the future."

A records search shows Dr. Darsey's medical license is still valid, and when we asked Kaiser if she was still seeing patients, they told us in a statement:

"Dr. Darsey is not currently seeing patients or providing services to Kaiser Permanente members. Out of respect for privacy and because this is a personnel matter, we cannot provide any additional information."

We reached out to the state medical board for comment on tonight's story-- but we never heard back. Records show Dr. Darsey's medical license expires at the end of 2021.

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