Maria Torres, 57-years old, died after being attacked by her two pet pit bulls.
Cause of Death Released
UPDATE 01/29/16: The Butte County Coroner's Office released the official cause of death of Maria Torres, 57. Sheriff's deputies found Torres dead inside her home on Dewsnup Avenue covered in bite marks on December 16. Two pet pit bulls were also inside her home. Miranda Bowersox, Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer, said that Torres died due to blood loss from the injuries she sustained due to a fatal dog attack. Both pit bulls were put down after the attack.
12/17/15: Killed by Family Pit Bulls
Gridley, CA - The Butte County Sheriff's Office said a Gridley woman is dead from injuries she sustained while trying to break up a fight between her two pit bulls. Gridley is about 60 miles north of Sacramento. When the victim did not show up for work Wednesday, deputies were asked to conduct a welfare check at her home on Dewsnup Avenue. Deputies arrived about 3:30 pm and found the woman inside covered in bite marks and two large pit bulls loose in the home.
According to a news release sent out Wednesday, investigators "determined that the dogs had been fighting, and the woman had tried to break them up. The woman sustained grave injuries as a result of her intervention and died as a result," the Butte County Sheriff's Office said. Animal control was called to the scene to contain the dogs. Relatives confirmed the two pit bulls were the victim's pets. The woman's name was not released pending notification of family members.
Afternoon Updates
The Butte County Sheriff's Office issued a statement today clarifying why they believe the victim was trying to break up a dog fight. The theory was "based on the fact that the dogs had injuries consistent with being involved in a fight with one another," states the release. Detectives are also evaluating if the victim died of natural causes and the dog bite injuries were inflicted post-mortem. The autopsy, which is scheduled for today, will determine the cause of death, states the release.
In an evening Fox 40 news report, the victim was identified as 57-year old Maria Torres. Butte County deputies discovered her body with injuries consistent with a dog attack. "The pit bulls had injuries themselves, indicating they had been in a confrontation, in a fight with one another," sheriff's spokesperson Miranda Bowersox said. The two male pit bulls were ages 3 and 5-years old; neither dog was neutered. Both pit bulls were euthanized at the request of Torres' daughter.
View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: California Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.Related articles:
09/10/15: 2015 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bulls Kill Man, Injure Woman in North Shore, California
03/25/15: 2013 Dog Bite Fatality: Stockton Woman Mauled to Death by Pit Bull
11/04/14: 2014 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bulls Kill Modesto Man, Critically Injure Another
11/03/14: 2013 Dog Bite Fatality: Antelope Valley Woman Mauled to Death by Pit Bulls
Another pit owner gets 'educated' by their dogs. I wonder how many people have been killed trying to separate fighting Chihuahuas?
When I was growing up, my family had dachshunds. They'd occasionally have scraps over food or some other minor issue. The fights were self-limiting. They'd bark and snarl at each other, and then it was over.
And that, people, is normal canine behavior.
Sad but the owner knew she owned pit bulls. Perhaps this another case of suicide. Having to arm yourself due to The neighbors having dangerous pit bulls who are known to be vicious is bad enough. To own that breed knowing they likely will kill your is insane.
There is no possible way that any investigation could conclude that the deceased attempted to break up a fight.
Pitbulls kill 1 person about every 2 weeks. Were not talking about the maulings or the attacks on other animals. That is a human fatality every two weeks in just the United States alone! If only most people knew this!
I couldn't imagine getting a call saying a friend or relative of mine was found dead on their floor as a result of their pets fighting. That's horrifying. This is a reason why a person shouldn't be able to own more than one pit (No one should be able to own a pit period since they all need to be eradicated, but I'll speak hypothetically for the sake of this case.). If a fight breaks out, more than likely someone will die, usually the owner. At least this fight occurred in the owner's house rather than on a public street or in a park.
Pit nutters can bash toy breeds all they want, but no one dies when toy breeds have a scuffle.
"Investigators determined the woman died of injuries she suffered while trying to stop her dogs from fighting, based on the fact that the dogs had injuries consistent with fighting each other, deputies said. There are other theories about the woman's cause of the death that are being explored, including that the victim died of natural causes and the wounds from an animal happened after she died, according to officers"
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http://www.kcra.com/news/butte-county-woman-possibly-killed-breaking-up-dog-fight/37015900
What a bunch of malarkey. They have no idea if she was breaking up a dog fight.There was no witnesses. Was she clutching her break stick?
After the "suicide" ruling last week I guess I can believe anything.
No doubt there are the nutters who probably think she had a heart attack and the pitties were trying to resuscitate her.
"Blame the deed, not the breed" they say.
"Its all in how you raise them" they also say.
The more deaths that result from Pit Bulls and bully breeds, continue to demonstrate what a social misfit monster these dogs are and just how people repeat what they hear instead of educating themselves BEFORE getting these bastard dogs.
Then of course the rescue idiots who would save a dog over a human anyday.
Wonder why you never hear from the Pit Experts that whisper how great they are, when they kill??! where is Cesar Millan and all the others?
We humans need to be rescued from the rescue idiots. People first!
They want to save very few bully dogs. They enjoy the excitement tge receive whenfighting over a particular bully dog here and there.
But they do not actually care about the great majority of bully dogs. Their mongering increases the bully dog crisis. Pits breed and die like flies, and the bully people say, "nothing matters but me, so don't change a thing! I don't care!"
My favorite nutter utter is: "A person/ child should never be left alone with any dog, regardless the breed" …. buuuut, aren't pitbulls the exclusive nanny dogs? Interestingly by definition, Nanny means: one who cares for a child in their own home. It seems that Pitbull means: one who might or probably will kill a person in their own home.
My husband was just chased this morning by a loose pitbull. My husband posed no threat and was simply walking home after our car broke down. He is 43, 6'2 and 248 pounds. You would think the dog wouldnt trigger and try to attack, but he did. My husband slowly backed away and then rounded a corner. When he was out of the dogs sight, my husband trotted half a block to gain distance. Then he turned to catch his breath. Thats when he heard the dogs claws hitting the sidewalk put of his view. Before he could turn and run he saw the Pit make a full on sprint around the corner. What allowed my husband to get a bit more distance was that the Pit's speed caused the dog to slide when he tried to turn the corner. My husband ran into on coming traffic and hurdled a waist high median. The dog chased him to the median and decided not to continue the chase. Thank God there was no oncoming traffic in the other side. The crazy part is that my husband was a block away from our home but didnt want to bring the dog anywhere near us. To say Pits are friendly and will not attack unless threatened, is grossly irresponsible.
Why are deaths such as these not ruled suicide? The victim owned dogs that are known for their aggression. Dogs that are more likely to kill humans than any other. Yet, she purposefully put herself in between them when they were fighting. Sounds suicidal to me.