After Samara Rogers was killed by dogs, the owner was charged with manslaughter.
Woman Walking Killed by Dogs
Augusta, GA - A 21-year old woman is dead after being attacked by two dogs Wednesday in Augusta. At approximately 10:29 am, Richmond County sheriff's deputies responded to the 3500 block of Ira Road in reference to a dog attack. Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowden said the victim, Samara Rogers, was walking on Ira Road when the dogs attacked her. Upon arrival, deputies located the severely injured victim. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:05 am, according to Bowden.
WRDW captured footage of an animal control officer and deputy removing the two large dogs from a nearby home with a catch pole. The first was white with a few dark spots and the second was tan with a darker muzzle and a white chest. Both are pit bull-type dogs. The white dog appears similar in size and structure as "Blade," which killed baby Serenity Garnett in Martinez, a suburb of Augusta, in 2022. The baby's great-grandmother, Migdelia Guadalupe, was sentenced to six years in prison.
Not long after the dogs were seized from the home on Ira Road, the sheriff's office arrested Charles David Blackwell, 55, of Augusta, for involuntary manslaughter in connection to Rogers' death. We believe we located the brown dog on Kimberly Blackwell's Facebook page, his wife, who is asking for prayers for "Chuck Blackwell," and "I’m doing everything I can. I love you thick and thin we will get through this." One commenter asked, "What about the poor girl that was killed by your dogs?"
There are also unconfirmed comments on the Jail Report Facebook page stating that a person was bitten by one of these dogs as recently as yesterday. Typically (if not always), the criminal charge of manslaughter or higher is only filed if the dog(s) were involved in bites or acts of aggression prior to the deadly mauling. Authorities are expected to provide additional information as the investigation progresses. So far, we have not seen any comments from the victim's family members or friends.
Previous Bites Confirmed
On Friday, WRDW reported that multiple dogs owned by Blackwell had a bite history. "Gator," a neutered brown and white pit bull had at least three previous bites. "Rebel," a brown and black intact male pit bull, had at least two previous bites before being euthanized in 2020. The most recent bites, in 2023, are attributed to "Baby Boy," a brown intact male pit bull, and "White Girl," a white intact female pit bull. Most of the bites occurred on Old McDuffie Road, where his wife apparently resides.
Blackwell is also a backyard breeder. So, new biting pit bulls are always around the corner. Gator (presumably) and Rebel were euthanized prior to the fatal mauling. So that leaves Baby Boy and White Girl as two dogs belonging to Blackwell, each with a documented bite history, that might have participated in the fatal attack. Both dogs attacked a male jogger in August 2023. It is unknown how many adult pit bulls were residing at the two Blackwell homes when the fatal mauling occurred.
Related articles:
04/27/23: 2022 Dog Bite Fatality: 7-Month Old Killed, Great-Grandmother Injured by Muscular...
08/07/20: Teenager Suffers Critical Injuries, Crushed Trachea, in Pit Bull Attack in Barrow County
Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.
Its about freaking time they start to charged the owner with a more serious crime then a stupid ticket. Its sad that samara died but she will get justice .Charles I hope you rot in jail .to Charles wife she should be ashamed of herself asking for prayers for her husband like he have cancer or something. His ” lovable ” dog kill a girl.she dead and bury because of him.
Samara how could you leave us like this we love you soo much this wasn’t meant for you my love like HOW 😭 WHY I’m so lost for words I can not believe this 💔‼️
I am so sorry for your loss. This is senseless!!! Samara deserved to celebrate her birthday this weekend, and many more birthdays. So sad. Genuinely praying for your family.
Seeing her picture makes me sad. An educated young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. I hope justice is served and that her family gets some type of restitution from these awful people.
Yes, the graduation picture.
We think of graduation as an accomplishment, the completion of a course of study and preparation. But, of course, it’s really meant to be the beginning, and seeing the promise of all that was being prepared for suddenly snatched away is what’s so moving.
Apparently the man who owned these dogs knew how to breed pitbulls but didn’t know how to keep his dogs from biting people. I hope he spends many years in prison. As a matter of fact, a sentence of life without parole wouldn’t bother me. What about his wife? Should she be jailed too?
I’ve seen many pitbull perp-walks from the home to the dog-catcher’s truck, but never did the animals look as wild as these two dogs. I hope those responsible will be severely punished.
Samara’s loved ones, I’m sad and angry for the pain Samara suffered and the sorrow you are experiencing.
I hope that someday we as a society will get rid of these dogs and put a stop to senseless deaths like Samara’s. It is sick, the way people and the media promote the protection of killer-breed dogs. One human life has more worth than an infinite number of pitbull-type dogs.