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Tuesday, August 13, 2013


2013 Dog Bite Fatality: Callaway Boy Savagely Mauled by Two Dogs Dies

callaway boy mauled by pit bull mix dogs dies
Tyler Austin "Catfish" Jett, 7-years old, of Callaway, Florida.

Decade Behind Bars
UPDATE 10/11/13: On October 11, Circuit Judge James Fensom denied Edward Daniels a new trial and sentenced him to 10-years in prison and 5-years probation. Assistant State Attorney Larry Basford and Assistant Public Defender Doug White brought up witnesses to give brief statements on Daniels sentencing. Daniels then gave an apology to the Jett family for the first time. The condition of his probation includes that Daniels cannot own or live in a household with dogs.

08/30/13: Guilty of Manslaughter
On August 29, a Bay County jury found Edward Daniels II guilty of manslaughter in connection to the dog mauling death of 7-year old Tyler Jett after two hours of deliberating. During the two day trial, a half dozen of Daniel's neighbors testified that his dogs had threatened them prior to the April 2 attack, and that they had confronted Daniels about it as well. Stanlee Himbaugh testified that he even warned Daniels, "They're going to kill a kid." The jury agreed with the neighbors.

Daniels was found not guilty for the charge of tampering with evidence.

04/08/13:Manslaughter Charges
Manslaughter charges have been filed against Edward Daniels II of Callaway after his two dogs brutally attacked Tyler Jett on April 2, ultimately causing his death. Daniels was already charged with felony tampering of evidence and drug charges that arose during the investigation. Greg Wilson, Chief Assistant State Attorney for the 14th Judicial Circuit, said, "In any type of animal case where the death of another person occurred, [manslaughter] is the highest you could go."

Edward Daniels II, 21, faces up to 15-years if convicted of manslaughter. On March 28, just days before his dogs got loose (again) and attacked Tyler, Bay County Animal Control cited Daniels for allowing his dogs to run loose and terrorize neighbors. That citation put Daniels on notice that his dogs were dangerous and that he needed to properly secure his animals. Daniels failed to do so and as a result, a child was horribly mauled and died due to injuries inflicted by his dogs.

The WMBB video showed images of both attacking dogs.

pit bull type dog that killed Tyler Jettpit bull type dog that killed Tyler Jett

Related video

04/07/13: Boy Dies After Attack
Callaway, FL - Tyler Jett, 7-years old, of Callaway has died. On April 2, Tyler was savagely attacked by two loose pit bull-mix dogs. Tyler was flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola where he remained in intensive care until his death.1 The boy suffered a punctured carotid artery and his head, face and neck were badly bitten. The dogs' owner, Edward Daniels II, was charged with felony tampering of evidence after washing the blood off one of his dogs after the attack.2

Just before the attack, Tyler was riding his bike after returning from school.3 Witnesses said the two dogs, which escaped from their owner's fenced-in yard, had chased another neighborhood boy into Tyler's yard before turning their attention on Tyler. The boy's stepmother, Katy Phillips, Tyler's father and a neighbor rushed to help him after hearing his screams. "Tyler did not provoke these dogs," Phillips said. "These dogs (dragged) this 7-year-old across my front yard."4
"I was keeping him alive. I was applying pressure to his neck and his head and telling him to keep breathing for me," Phillips said.
Two days after the violent attack, friends of the boy's family planned a benefit to raise money to help cover the boy's medical costs. The benefit cookout was held Saturday morning at the Dam Bait Shop. An aunt of the boy said the event raised about $12,000. A new fundraising event will be held Monday at Bill Byrd Kia in Panama City. WPAP 92.5 FM will be broadcasting live. Collecting donations now broadens to include Tyler's funeral expenses along with his hospital stay costs.

 Daniels is not a stranger to dog attacks. Last May, Daniels was walking a dog named Dude that belonged to his sister, Amber Daniels, when it bit a 9-year old boy in the face without provocation. That dog was surrendered to animal control to be destroyed after it was declared dangerous for a previous unprovoked attack in 2010. The two pit bull-mix dogs that attacked Tyler had not been previously declared dangerous, but had a history of getting loose and threatening behaviors.

Related video

04/03/13: BCSO Police Report
OFFICIAL BCSO REPORT – CALLAWAY DOG ATTACK
On 04-02-13 I Deputy Price responded to 6213 Kelly Ct. in reference to a seven year old child being mauled by two pittbull’s. Upon my arrival Fire Rescue were already on scene and administering CPR to the unconscious seven year old white male that was attacked by the pitt bull’s. The pittbull’s had already fled the scene and were believe to have went back to their home at 6228 Kelly Ct. (Mother) Katy Phillips explained to me that she was inside her house when she heard screaming and yelling outside by family members and neighbor’s who saw her son being attacked by two pittbull’s. Ms. Phillips said that neighbor Shannon Washington, herself and her husband attempted to scare off the two pittbull’s but were unsuccessful due to the pittbulls aggressive behavior towards them. Ms. Phillips said that she then covered her son beneath her as her husband went to retrieve a gun from out of the house to kill the dog’s.
Myself and responding Deputies went to the residence of 6228 Kelly Ct. where we made contact with the owner of the pittbull’s Edward Daniels Jr. II. Animal Control later arrived on scene and detained the two pittbull’s that were located in Mr. Daniel’s back yard. The two dogs were identified by the victim’s parents and neighbors as the two pittbull’s that attacked the seven year old child.
The child was later identified to be XXXXX Austin XXXXX. The pittbull’s are described as two mix breed pitt bull’s. One was a Brindle mix breed pitt bull that was a one year old. The second pittbull was identified as a mixed breed pittbull that was eight years old. Upon receiving the pittbull’s from Mr. Daniels, Animal Control personnel Matthew Bland said to me, that Mr. Daniels had a non caring attitude learning that the pittbulls attacked a seven year old child. Mr. Bland also said that Mr. Daniels said that he knew something was wrong when he saw blood on the eight year old pittbull’s mouth. Mr. Daniels said that both of the pittbull’s have gotten out of his back yard on several occassions by digging holes under the fence.
Read: BCSO report in full | Additional BCSO report
map iconView the DogsBite.org Google Map: Florida Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.

1The boy did not regain consciousness after the mauling.
2Daniels is not the first Florida resident to "tamper with evidence" by washing away blood evidence after a fatal dog attack. After the mauling death of Carshena Benjamin in 2007, Linda Billie did the same thing then dumped the two pit bulls at undisclosed locations. Neither Billie nor the owner of the dogs, Linda Newell, were criminally charged.
3The News Herald describes one dog as an Alapaha blue-blood bulldog, one of several unofficial breeds achieved by crossing the "old southern white bulldog" and the American pit bull terrier. The other dog is simply described as a "brindle bulldog." The Bay County Sheriff's Office report described both dogs as mixed-breed pit bulls. Notably, it was the owner of the dogs that altered the "breed type" while under police questioning on the day of the attack.
4Tyler's step-mother also told the News Herald that his family owns a pit bull that had been Tyler's "playmate all of his life," but after the mauling, they planned to get rid of it.

Related articles:
07/25/12: Bay County Animal Hospital Worker Suffers Catastrophic Injury in Pit Bull Attack
07/11/12: 2012 Dog Bite Fatality: Avondale Man Mauled to Death by Pit Bull-Type Dog
04/08/09: Pit Bull Attacks Toddler While Being Baby-Sat in Bay County
04/01/08: 2007 Fatal Mauling Investigation of Carshena Benjamin Closes Unresolved

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20 comments:

Blogger Decatur AL livin nt to 4 pits  |  4/07/2013 8:02 PM  |  Flag  
This is heart breaking. I was so praying for this child to make it. I'm wondering if even 1 pit bull nut job will shed a tear for this sweet little boy, or if the loss of his life will change anything with all those pit bull owners that lives around where this child lived?

OpenID truthbird  |  4/07/2013 8:10 PM  |  Flag  
The boy's father...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=240946979281998&set=pb.100001000920006.-2207520000.1365383010&type=3&theater

OpenID bentonbergny  |  4/07/2013 8:10 PM  |  Flag  
I don't think I am able to get over the shock about the state of barbarism we are in.

Animal control, the authority system, was complicit in this crime.

This Daniels should have been charged with a crime after the very first attack and monitored by the court system to prevent further crimes. But animal control not only allowed another attack to happen with that dog, they then have been allowing him to let these pit bulls run loose and terrorize people.

The Authority figures of Callaway are just swimming in guilt

OpenID maultalk  |  4/07/2013 8:31 PM  |  Flag  
Time of death sure is varying. "Tyler Jett was pronounced dead at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday after being attacked Tuesday, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office."

Blogger Your Quiet Neighbor  |  4/07/2013 9:54 PM  |  Flag  
If more animal control agencies were sued for huge amounts, we'd see some real change. Because, in the end, it's the taxpayers who are liable for these suits. And they tend to get a bit irate about such things.

Blogger PutMeInCharge4OneDay  |  4/07/2013 10:28 PM  |  Flag  
The poor baby.

Seeing the photo of the boys father posing with a pit bull...well it left me speechless.

Blogger DubV  |  4/08/2013 1:50 AM  |  Flag  
No matter how much I hate to see an injured person or child and how much I wish for victims and their families to maintain privacy and dignity....it is important for people to see photos of the aftermath.

Tyler is not recognizable in the hospital bed. The way he is swollen, covered, restricted...he looks much younger than in his other pictures. I thought the injured person was an infant before I read more and looked at the other pics.

Blogger vintage  |  4/08/2013 7:10 AM  |  Flag  
Tyler was the 215th American killed by a pit bull since the incompetent CDC Fatality report covering 1979-1998.

The two Government employees who chaired the report and allowed the pit crazies to craft it, need to be defending their jobs.

Blogger Miss Margo  |  4/08/2013 8:53 AM  |  Flag  
I already wrote this on the dogsbitedecatural blog, but I'll put it here, too: that picture of Tyler all bruised and mangled just rips my heart out. It hurts just to look at him.

It's awful that his family couldn't tell him goodbye, but maybe it's best that he didn't wake up. I can't imagine the pain.

Daniels is a scumbag. God I hate cowards.

Blogger Miss Margo  |  4/08/2013 8:55 AM  |  Flag  
I just looked at Dad's facebook...lord have mercy.

Blogger DubV  |  4/08/2013 11:07 AM  |  Flag  
This site

http://www.newsherald.com/news/crime-public-safety/update-dog-attack-victim-dies-1.123381

is reporting the killer dogs as

a brindle bulldog

and

an alapaha blue blood bulldog.

Rather predictable. This will be used as a get out of jail free card by nutters. I think among nutters it is considered posh to call your pit bull something that sounds rare and expensive.

Blogger GJ Tryon  |  4/08/2013 12:43 PM  |  Flag  
These animals have killed and mutilated more children than all the gun nuts combined but nobody seems to care. Or does the Constitution guarantee the right keep and breed monsters?

Blogger PutMeInCharge4OneDay  |  4/08/2013 1:33 PM  |  Flag  
We need an Assault DOG ban more than anything!

DubV you are right, definitely posh to have a "special" kind of pit bull in their mind.

Blogger bitbypit  |  4/08/2013 6:30 PM  |  Flag  
Most of the early reports depicted the dogs as bulldogs; we have this footnoted above. Last year, there was a so-called Alapaha blue-blood bulldog fatality. Once the press understood the makings of the breed -- "half pit bull" -- they weren't amused and began calling it what it is, a pit bull-mix. The blue-blood is not an official breed; it is not recognized by any registry that we know of except the one that coined its name. We only have a photo of one of the dogs in this case. The sister/mother's similar type dog (Dude) that was put down last year after biting a child in the face unprovoked has several photos at the mother's Facebook page. It's unknown if the three pit bull type dogs are related. The family also breeds daschunds. ("Four daschund puppies in the home have been returned to Daniels’ mother, who also lives in the house, Bay County spokeswoman Valerie Sale said Sunday.").

OpenID bentonbergny  |  4/08/2013 8:51 PM  |  Flag  
So the household of the perp is a breeder.

Is there any information about why animal control was letting these people terrorize the community with their violent dogs? Multiple attacks and no consequences for them.

OpenID bentonbergny  |  4/08/2013 11:21 PM  |  Flag  
A bright note in all this darkness. People did file formal complaints with animal control and demand that citations be issued.

This is why it is so important for everyone to file formal complaints and make sure citations are issued for law breaking and aggressive behavior.

It was thanks to the people who did what they needed to do and made those complaints that a history was built up so charges could be issued, and the owner of the dogs couldn't lie and get away with it.

Never fail to file formal complaints and do a follow up to make sure there were citations on record.

OpenID truthbird  |  4/21/2013 11:06 AM  |  Flag  
APRIL 20: Dogs destroyed -- Daniels still holed up in jail.
http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/Bay-County-Euthanizes-Two-Killer-Dogs-203950171.html

Blogger bitbypit  |  5/31/2013 1:06 PM  |  Flag  
Helene Logan has left a new comment on your post "2013 Dog Bite Fatality: Callaway Boy Savagely Maul...":

I was walking my dog and my neighbor's dog (retriever mixes, gentle, and JUST WALKING) when my neighbors dog was brutally attacked by a PitBull. I managed to beat the dog off (as witnesses told me later), but my neighbors dog has had thousands of dollars of vet bills. She luckily survived. The pit owner? He came up, grabbed his unleashed dog and ran off. Mr. Tough Guy, indeed. The most irritating part of this is that the local police (Stratford, CT) didn't seem to care, and did nothing. A majority of them own pits themselves, because they think they're 'tough guys' too. THEY DID NOTHING.
They are as complicit as the idiots who make up the majority of pit owners.
Thank you for this site--4 years later, this attack still haunts me. And my neighbor's dog has gone from carefree to distrusting of strange dogs.

[published comment manually -- there was an error trying to publish the original]

Blogger Duquesne Lacrosse Recruits Beware  |  8/30/2013 11:25 AM  |  Flag  
Edward Daniels is in jail..GOOD! All of the local city council members across the country who still don't GET IT and continue to allow domestic ownership of these savage breeds...ALSO have the blood of these poor victims on their hands!

Blogger Duquesne Lacrosse Recruits Beware  |  8/30/2013 11:28 AM  |  Flag  
Daniels is going away...GOOD! And any city council people across the country who continue to allow these breeds to co-exist among thier citizens also have blood on their hands! WTF does it take to WAKE UP!

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