A Kauai Circuit Court judge has issued a bench warrant for a Hanamaulu woman for failing to appear at her trial on 16 animal cruelty charges that was filed three years ago, the Garden Island reported.

Laura Butler-Brady did not appear before Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano at the start of her trial Monday, the newspaper reported. Butler-Brady, the former proprietor of Keapana Horsemanships riding stable, faces 16 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

The case initially was dismissed in 2012 because the state had violated her right to a speedy trial, the newspaper reported.

The defendant was re-indicted in June 2012.

The Kauai Humane Society conducted the initial investigation, which led to the first indictment in 2010.