Man indicted in cat owner's death

The Howard County Sheriff's Department today arrested a 53-year-old Columbia man in connection with the death of Ayten Icgoren.

James Walden Beaman, Jr., faces negligent manslaughter and additional charges in connection with a Nov. 24 automobile accident that resulted in Icgoren's death.

Icgoren's name may be familiar to those involved in animal issues. In 2008, she was convicted of animal cruelty charges after officials discovered dozens of sick, dying and dead cats in her daughter's Owen Brown townhome in the summer 0f 2006. A Howard County Judge sentenced her to six months in the detention center on September 24, 2008.

Icgoren was struck and killed as she attempted to cross Cradlerock Way near her Colulmbia home.

No court date has been set for Beaman’s arraignment.