40 frozen dead cats found inside storage unit

LONG ISLAND CITY, NY -- A man who purchased a storage unit Monday afternoon in Long Island City, New York, made a gruesome discovery -- at least 40 dead cats inside two freezers.

The auction was held by American Self-Storage Facility for abandoned storage lockers.

The auction winner, who paid $150, went to review the locker and found dead frozen felines.

During the investigation, police found at least 40 frozen cats, including one skinned cat in an aluminum tray.

The cats were inside two four-by-three foot freezers. Police said the animals were stacked on top of each other and frozen together. They couldn't even count exactly how many there were.

Detectives said once they opened the freezers the smell of death was overwhelming, even permeating officers' clothing.

The ASPCA took the deceased animals for necropsies. They say that the procedures will take a few days to complete because they have to wait for the cats to thaw out.

Authorities need to wait for the necropsy results to determine if there will be charges.

The unit was rented two years ago by a 66-year-old woman paying month-to-month, who stopped paying in July.