Thomas Carter Jr. before his mauling death and his father, Thomas Carter Sr.
Repeat Offender
UPDATE 04/15/10: Details continue to emerge in the Pasco County fatal attack. After killing the newborn, Sidon attacked another household pit bull that was chained in the backyard. Kevin Doll, a spokesperson for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, said the infant's mother underwent a toxicology test to determine why she slept through the attack. He said that authorities had visited the home in December when Carter Sr. was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery.
Carter Sr. was accused of punching a man so hard that he had to be flown to a hospital for surgery to relieve swelling of his brain.
Possibly due to the widely published photographs of Sidon, Dawn Adams stepped forward and told WTSP.com, "Oh my God, I know that dog!" Adams said Sidon used to live near her with different owners and that it attacked both pets and people. "It was out of control. It was vicious," she said. It must be noted that the vast majority of dogs involved in serious and fatal maulings are not photographed by the media, disallowing the dog's identification by persons like Adams.
The roommate who performed CPR on the baby says that Sidon was always in the bedroom. Jackie Welch says Nicole was a good mother and that what happened was just a "freak accident."
But Dawn Adams says this was an accident waiting to happen. "Oh my God, I know that dog!" she exclaimed when she heard about the attack.
Adams says Sidon used to live near her with different owners and that it attacked both pets and people. "It was out of control. It was vicious. The dog's mean," she said. - Kathryn Bursch, WTSP, April 15, 2010
04/14/10: Two Pit Bulls in Household
New information1 has been released about the death of Pasco County infant Thomas Carter Jr. Jackie Welch, whose brother Jonathan Gibson and girlfriend live with the baby's parents, resides next door and had slept over the previous night. It was Welch who opened the door when her friend, Jackie Frishe, came to visit at 11:45 am. Welch administered CPR to try to revive the infant. According to Welch, the pet pit bull routinely slept in the bedroom with the baby and his parents.2
Welch said she heard the baby cry at 9:30 am for about two minutes and after that it became quiet. She said she never heard a sound from the dog. "The dog didn't make a noise or nothing -- no growling, no barking, no nothing," Welch said. She also said there is "tension" between Sidon and her brother's pit bull, named Buddy, who allegedly spent the night in her brother's bedroom. An analysis of the 911 call, shows her statement to be questionable (See: 911 Transcript.)
This is the second child in Moon Lake to be killed by a family dog in four months. In December 2009, Dallas Lee Walters was killed by a relative's rottweiler-mix during a birthday party.
04/14/10: Infant Killed by Pet Pit Bull
New Port Richey, FL - Newborn Thomas James Carter Jr. was mauled to death today by his parents' brindle pit bull, according to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. Neighbors say the infant died while sharing a bed with his sleeping 16-year old mother in their Moon Lake Estates home. The mother, whom neighbors identified as Nicole Koezeno, didn't discover her infant son was dead until a neighbor said she knocked on the mother's door and woke her around noon.
The attack was reported to 911 at 12:02 p.m. Paramedics took the infant, who suffered life threatening injuries, to Morton Plant North Bay Hospital where the infant later died. The pet pit bull, named Sidon, belongs to the infant's father, Thomas James Carter, 20. Pasco County Animal Services took the animal away, according to the Sheriff's Office. The mother's brother, Jason Koezeno, 18, said that his sister was excited about her pregnancy despite her young age.
2Pasco authorities have taken the unusual step of having the dog's DNA tested to determine the dog's breed despite Welch saying the dog was a full pit bull and that "breed DNA" tests for pit bulls are unreliable (See: Mars Wisdom Panel FAQ: "Does Wisdom Panel Professional test for "Pit-bull?").
Related articles:
02/24/10: 2010 Fatality: 5-Day Old Infant Killed by Family Pit Bull
There is a poll embedded in the article asking if Florida should be able to enact breed bans. According to an article linked with the poll, it's a proposal moving through the state senate to allow counties and municipalities to enact breed bans, something currently not allowed under Florida state law. If you're a resident of Florida, I urge you to contact your state senator and let him or her know that you are tired of the state putting dog fighters' and pit breeders' interests before human lives. Had there been a ban, this tragedy might have been averted.
and of course the 20 yr old father is a tattooed violent felon.
Authorities had been to the home in December when Carter was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery. He and a roommate fought about the cleanliness of the home, a report said. Carter was accused of punching the man so hard that the man had to be flown to Tampa General Hospital for surgery to relieve swelling of his brain. Carter also was arrested in 2007 on charges of possession of controlled substances and burglary, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/dog-kills-new-port-richey-infant/1087370
Neighbors told ABC Action News the family had previously been reported to Animal Control. The dog was taken from the scene by Animal Services.
http://www.abcactionnews.com/content/news/local/pasco/story/Newborn-killed-by-dog-in-New-Port-Richey/PIuhGPOtjkeQ7uHH0eNu9Q.cspx
"the family had previously been reported to Animal Control"
And Animal Control falls down on the job again.
At the very least, this ALSO needed to be a report to Social Services, especially when Animal Control did nothing, that this household had a baby AND violent dogs in the house together.
As well as a complaint to the mayor and police chief that Animal Control did nothing, and that someone was going to get killed thanks to the negligence of Animal Control.
How could the neighbors not have called Social Services too?
In too many areas, Animal Control has become the Pit Bull Protection but ok to Kill People Service.
People can't stop at just making animal control complaints when pit bulls are involved. They have to report to every government body possible, and escalate, or else someone dies.
Why wasn't the landlord contacted? His insurance company?
neighbors are complaining that both pits have been a problem running loose and menacing the neighborhood.
http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=40098514-cf94-44ae-8792-c13001cc404b
An article referred to this dog as lovable twice. Yeah, loves you to death.
Here's a little twist:
Detectives said the dog attacked the infant, then escaped the home and attacked another dog down the street.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/newborn-dies-after-dog-attack-in-florida/story-e6frf7lf-1225853892943
"Detectives said the dog attacked the infant, then escaped the home and attacked another dog down the street."
That doesn't help the pit nutter theory that human aggression is not the same as dog aggression.
"neighbors are complaining that both pits have been a problem running loose and menacing the neighborhood."
So this child's death lies squarely as a fault of Animal Control.
They did NOTHING about dangerous pit bulls and let everyone in the neighborhood have their lives at risk.
Animal Control enabled a dangerous dog. Animal Control helped this dog kill.
These dogs should have been seized ages ago, and child services involved.
But my heavens, why did the neighbors only report to Animal Control? It was clear that AC was failing. Why didn't they escalate immediately?
This could have been a neighbor's child or multiple children killed!
The American Dream
"The singlewide mobile home on Olsen Street where the baby died is white with brown shutters. Blankets and towels are tacked up as curtains and a sheet of plywood is jammed into a broken window. There's a blue gingham couch in the yard; old tires, a treadmill, an overflowing dumpster, a faded red pickup with weeds brushing the doors. The road is paved. Most in Moon Lake Estates aren't. The trailer has 840 square-feet of living space — two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, one bathroom. Ten people — eight adults and two children — lived here off and on with three dogs that didn't get along. Sidon, a 45-pound pit bull terrier, fought with the other dogs, so he stayed in Nicole Koezeno's bedroom. On Wednesday morning, as the 16-year-old Koezeno slept in bed with her seven-day-old son, Thomas James Carter Jr., the dog attacked. Koezeno woke at noon to a nightmare. Her son was dead beside her, killed as she slept."
The comments on this story are interesting and at times ruthless. What stuck out to me, and at least one commenter, was the "DNA" test for the dog, which Mars admits is unreliable.
Pasco authorities, possibly at the urging of James/Jim Crosby, are having the dog DNA tested for its breed presumably so that they can call it something other than a pit bull or pit bull-mix!
Oops, here's the link to that story:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/family-mourns-newborn-as-pit-bull-put-to-death/1087804
When faced with a situation like this, your best course of action would be to arm yourself, and keep all children and pets indoors until you are able to move. Sadly, it's the only realistic solution. Pit bull owners generally have absolutely ZERO respect for other people or other animals whom they endanger with their dogs, and their usually irresponsible handing of them. Animal control is a JOKE. You can't depend on the police. If your neighbor's pit bulls become a problem, just accept the fact that it's to to start looking for a new place to live.