Posted on January 16, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

2020 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Killed by Pack of Dogs on Tribal Land at Taos Pueble in New Mexico

Police believe Kay Torres died after being attacked by a pack of dogs at Taos Pueblo.

Woman Killed by Dogs
Taos Pueblo, NM - Law enforcement believe a woman was killed by a pack of dogs on tribal land in early January. Taos Pueblo Gov. Edwin Concha confirmed that the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator is looking into her death. The obituary for 52-year old Kay Torres states she passed away unexpectedly on January 8. Her sister, Sandra Bible, said Torres had worked for Taos Pueblo Head Start as well as Taos Public Schools over the years, reports Taos News.

According to a Taos County dispatch log, a caller reported seeing Torres' body surrounded by a group of dogs that were attacking her near the intersection of Leaf Arrow Lane and Willow Lane. The caller fended off the dogs with a stick. When the dogs moved away, the caller could see bite marks on Torres' arms and legs. "It appears that Kay Torres was killed by a pack of dogs," Taos Pueblo Tribal Police Officer James Gladeau reported from the scene, according to the log.

The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator has not confirmed the cause of death in a reported dog mauling that occurred eight days ago.

The log report did not indicate how many dogs were involved or if the dogs were later captured. According to Bible, loose dogs have been an ongoing issue in the community. "We've been hearing that this was not the first dog attack on tribal land," Bible told Taos News. "They have something out there where you're not supposed to have more than two dogs. But everybody has more than that. There's no control on the reservation." Tribal policy limits households to two dogs.

Kay left behind six children, according to her obituary. One of her children, Nightwalker, posted on Facebook on January 12, "I love you so much! Watch over all us and now you can rest. She might of been struggling with life but she always stayed fighting and made the best of things even if we didn’t have a whole lot." Bible, who lives in Tulsa, told Taos News she and Torres are Taos Pueblo and Muscogee, a tribe based in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Torres later settled at Taos Pueblo.

Fatal Dog Attacks on Reservations

Our nonprofit has recorded 12 fatal dog attacks on Indian reservations since 2007. The actual number is unknown, as media reports are often limited on tribal lands. Reservations in Arizona and New Mexico have the most fatal dog maulings. Pack attacks involving loose dogs -- loose dogs that have owners -- are the most common scenario. Several years ago, two fatal attacks on adjacent reservations in South Dakota, Rosebud and Pine Ridge, drew significant media attention.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Fatal Dog Attacks on American Indian Reservations.

Learn about breed-specific laws on Indian reservations in our Breed Safety Laws section.

Baseline reporting requirements:
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.

Posted on January 13, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

2020 Dog Bite Fatality: Family Pit Bull Kills 4-Month Old Baby Girl in Dayton, Ohio

A 4-month old infant was killed by a family pit bull in Dayton, Ohio on January 9.

Mother Asleep on Couch
UPDATE 01/15/20: The Dayton Daily News obtained the search warrant. On January 9, just before midnight, the baby's father arrived home and found his baby, 4-month old McKenzie Terwell, dead on the floor. The infant had been mauled by a family pit bull. The mother of the child, Mary Shoup, was sleeping on a couch, possibly after taking prescription medication. Terwell died from blood loss due to extensive soft tissue trauma, according to the county coroner.

When police officers arrived at the Vermont Avenue home, the baby's father, 21-year old Parker Terwell, was on the front porch with the baby's body, reports the Daily News. "Mr. Terwell said he just arrived home, and his girlfriend and mother of the child, Mary Shoup, was asleep on the living room sofa," states an affidavit written by Dayton Police Detective Karina Sulek in the search warrant request. "Mr. Terwell informed officers that Ms. Shoup is on prescription medication."

Medications prescribed to Shoup were seen next to the sofa, the affidavit states, including benzodiazepines and SSRIs. No criminal charges -- pending or otherwise -- have been announced thus far. The search warrant, however, lists endangering children as a possible charge. One pit bull was seized from the home after the deadly attack. According to neighbors, this was a multi-pit bull household; the couple kept two or three pit bulls in the home's fenced yard.

WDTN reported additional information, including that the multiple prescriptions for the infant's mother were found to have side effects, such as drowsiness and insomnia, as well as cognitive dysfunction (brain fog), a diminished ability to think, remember or reason. The baby's father also told police officers he got rid of a bong before they arrived. It is unknown if either of the infant's parents will face charges. So far, no funeral information for McKenzie has been announced.

01/13/20: Family Dog Kills Infant
Dayton, OH - On January 9, just before midnight, Dayton police officers were dispatched to a home in the 100 block of Vermont Avenue for reports of an infant not breathing. Officers found the baby girl had died after being attacked by the family dog, according to Lt. Jason Hall. The infant died of blood loss due to extensive soft tissue trauma, according to Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger. The baby girl was later identified as 4-month old McKenzie Terwell.

The case remains under investigation by the Special Victim's Unit. Police did not release the dog breed information. The animal was taken into custody and is being held in quarantine while the investigation is being conducted. Terwell's death marks the fifth fatal dog attack in Montgomery County since 2012. Four of the five deaths occurred while under the leadership of former Dog Warden Mark Kumpf, the most notorious being the savage death of Klonda Richey in 2014.

Evening Updates

In a 6:13 pm update, WDTN confirmed the dog is a pit bull. "The dog, who Dayton Police tell us is a pit bull, has since been quarantined and the incident is under investigation by the police department’s Special Victims Unit," reports WDTN. It remains unclear if the baby was visiting the home. In 2017, the very first time infant Barrett Hagans stayed overnight at his father's home in Pike Township, Ohio, one of his father's pit bulls killed the baby while he slept in his bassinet.

On Tuesday, text of the 911 call was released. The baby's father told the dispatcher, "I just got home, I don't know I just saw my baby on the floor and I don't know what to do." He told the dispatcher the baby's mother supposed to be with her, and now the baby is not breathing. "She's cold. She's gone," he said. The father said he tried to do CPR on the baby, but achieved no results. "I'm sorry," the caller said. "I don't know what happened. I don't know what happened."

Infants Killed by Dogs

In October, we released new data on pit bull fatality trends over a 14-year period, 2005 through 2018. Trends include: 66% of fatal dog maulings are perpetrated by pit bulls; 49% of infant deaths due to dog maulings are inflicted by pit bulls; and 73% of adult deaths due to dog maulings are inflicted by pit bulls. Half of all infants (< 1 year old) killed by dogs are killed by pit bulls, primarily family pit bulls. This infant was alone at the time too. Criminal charges should be mandatory.

Home on Vermont Avenue where a family pit bull killed an infant on January 9 in Dayton.

Neighbor Darleen Bohannon said the family kept two or three pit bulls in their fenced yard.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Ohio Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

2020 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Charged with Murder After Violent Pit Bull Attack in Rockcastle County, Kentucky

Donald Abner, 55, died after being mauled by a pit bull in Rockcastle County, Kentucky.

Sentenced to Prison
UPDATE 11/09/22: In October, a woman charged in connection to the death of 55-year old Donald Abner pleaded guilty to murder. Melissa Wolke, who gave commands to her pit bull to attack Abner while she repeatedly punched him in the face, accepted a guilty plea in exchange for 20 years in prison. During an interview with police after the attack, Wolke said she was going "redneck" on the man and that she was the owner of the pit bull named "Denali" that was involved in the attack.

According to court testimony, a neighbor reported hearing sounds of a party that night. When he went to check on the sounds, he saw Wolke on top of Abner, assaulting him and saying "Good boy, get him," to the dog. The neighbor filmed the assault with his phone. He told police he later deleted the video evidence because "it made him sick to watch." Responding officers shot and killed the pit bull at the scene. In November, Wolke was formally sentenced to 20 years in jail.

01/22/20: Probable Cause Hearing
Testimony from the probable cause hearing revealed details about the cause of death, but parts are still pending. Melissa Wolke is charged with murder in connection to the death of Donald Abner, 55, in an attack that also involved Wolke's pit bull biting the man. Officers shot and killed the dog at the scene. The initial cause of death is asphyxiation. The coroner also determined that Abner had a broken bone in his neck, an injury that is not consistent with a vicious dog attack.

Kentucky State Police Detective Ryan Loudermilk testified that a neighbor reported hearing sounds of a party throughout the night. When the neighbor went to check on the sounds, he reportedly saw Wolke on top of Abner, assaulting him and saying, "Good boy, get him," to the dog, a pit bull named "Denali." At that point, the neighbor took a video of the attack with his cell phone. Later, he told investigators he deleted the video evidence because "it made him sick to watch."

When police searched Wolke's home, a singlewide mobile home, it appeared neat with no signs of disorder or a struggle. No drugs were found at the scene, just a mostly empty bottle of Jagermeister. Seven hours after Wolke was booked into jail, she was still too intoxicated to be interviewed. When Loudermilk was able to interview Wolke, she began crying, telling him repeatedly, "Oh my God, I went redneck on him." Wolke said she could not recall any fighting.

Wolke said she had been staying at the home for about three months, and that Abner was staying with her. She claimed Abner didn’t have a job or a car, and she wasn’t sure how long he planned to stay with Wolke, reports WYKT. The two had been good friends for 20 years. Wolke said she had a history of blacking out on alcohol. She claimed she warned Abner that she could black out. She also claimed "Denali" was a former fighting dog. How she acquired the dog is unknown.

01/12/20: More Details Released
The owner of the pit bull, 38-year old Melissa Wolke, was charged with murder in connection to the death of Donald Abner. On Friday morning, at about 3:40 am, deputies received a 911 call. When they arrived at the singlewide mobile home on US 25 near Pug Lane they encountered an aggressive pit bull. An arrest citation states that Wolke sicced her pit bull on Abner. It was the 911 caller who witnessed Wolke attacking Abner and giving her dog commands to attack the man.

"The way I look at it is that she used her animal, a pit bull, as a weapon to help her in this altercation." - Kentucky State Police Trooper Scottie Pennington

Arriving deputies also witnessed Wolke sitting on the man and punching him in the face, while the dog attacked him. According to the arrest citation, Wolke appeared to have blood on her hands and feet, and a large clump of hair in her hands that was consistent with the victim's hair, reports LEX 18. During an interview Friday, Wolke told Kentucky State Police that she was going "redneck" on the man and that she was the owner of the attacking pit bull, named "Denali."

There are conflicting reports about who lived at the home near Pug Lane. Wolke and her dog were "there at the time," reports LEX 18. On Saturday, the man's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office in Frankfort. Police said the man suffered dog bites to his face and head. Police are awaiting the cause of death from the autopsy report. "They’ll be able to tell if it was a gun shot, a dog bite, or heart attack," said Trooper Scottie Pennington of the Kentucky State Police.

01/10/20: Pit Bull Kills Man
Berea, KY - A man is dead after being attacked by a dog in northern Rockcastle County, near Pug Lane, according to authorities. Rockcastle County Coroner Marvin Owens was called to the home on U.S. 25 early Friday morning after a reported fatal dog mauling. Arriving state troopers found an aggressive pit bull near a truck at the home. They shot and killed the animal. News footage shows a veterinarian at the scene bagging the dead pit bull in a black, plastic garbage bag.

Kentucky State Police said the dog was not a stray and apparently belonged to a woman who was visiting the home. That woman, the owner of the dog, has been hospitalized due to the trauma of the experience, reports LEX 18. Neighbors told WKYT the people who lived at the home had only recently moved in. Jerry Merritt said he's heard gunfire at night in the past few weeks, apparently coming from the residents, "I don’t know what they’re shooting at or for the fun of it or what."

Friday Evening Updates

Late Friday, police charged Melissa Wolke, 38, for murder in connection to the death 55-year old Donald Abner. When state troopers arrived at the home on Pug Lane, Wolke was on top of Abner, punching him. She was also commanding her pit bull to attack him. Wolke had to be Tased to get her off the victim. She also refused to call off her dog. The pit bull had to be shot and killed as a result. An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday to determine the cause and manner of death.

A Google Search returns many arrest photographs of Wolke. In 2013, she ran a Twitter page too. Its unknown if the case is categorized as domestic violence. One of the most horrific Kentucky domestic violence cases involving a pit bull occurred in 2015, when Marilyn Stanley was partially scalped by a pit bull Zachary Allen Gross "directed" to attack her. Despite routine scalping injuries inflicted by pit bulls, investigators determined that Gross cut off her scalp with a sharp knife.

Kentucky Fatal Dog Attacks

In 2019, canines in Kentucky killed four people. All four victims were male. In February, 1-year old Ashton McGee was killed was killed by a family pit bull-mix in Guthrie. In May, 2-year old Isaiah Geiling was killed by a family pit bull in Louisville. In October, 3-year old Steven Thornton was also killed by dogs, rottweiler-mixes, in Louisville after he climbed through a bedroom window while the rest of his family slept. In June, 46-year old Brian Butler was killed by three pit bulls in Gilbertsville.

Kentucky is a moderate population state with an estimated 4.5 million residents. Despite dogs killing nine people in California in 2019, a state with an estimated population of 39.6 million, the rate of fatal dog attacks in Kentucky last year (per 100,000 population) was over four times higher than California. Traditionally, states with the highest populations -- California, Texas and Florida -- also have the highest number of fatal dog maulings each year, excluding the state of New York.

Rockcastle County - Melissa Wolke is charged with murder after violent pit bull mauling.

Veterinarian seen bagging the dead pit bull after a vicious mauling in Rockcastle County, Ky.

View the DogsBite.org Google State Map: Kentucky Fatal Pit Bull Attacks.

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Colleen Lynn

81% of All Dog Bite Fatalities Had Breed Identification Images

Photographs of six fatally attacking dogs in 2019 obtained from multiple sources.

Jump down to view all 2019 breed identification photographs or read our analysis first.

DogsBite.org - In 2013, we began the tradition of publishing breed identification photographs of fatally attacking dogs when available through news reports, animal control agencies, police departments and social media websites. Of the 48 dog bite fatalities recorded in 2019, a record 81% (39) had some form of an identification photograph, the highest percentage since we began our collection effort. Pit bulls and their mixes represent 74% of all images collected in 2019.

Of the 39 cases with breed identification photographs, 59% (23) contained images captured or republished by news media; 59% (23) contained images located on social media pages of the dog's owner or family members; and 49% (19) contained images that were the result of DogsBite research and otherwise may have gone unpublished. Police and animal control agencies only released images in 6 cases, yet 81% (39 of 48) of all deaths involved dogs taken into quarantine.

(Percentages are higher than 100% due to a single death containing multiple dog images, each attributed to a different source, as well as images that fall into overlapping publishing categories.)

Identification Photographs (2013-2019)

Of the 266 dog bite fatalities recorded by our nonprofit since January 1, 2013, nearly two-thirds, 63% (168), have a breed identification photograph published on our website. Of the 192 deaths inflicted by pit bulls and their mixes since January 1, 2013, 67% (128) have a breed identification photograph published on our website. Of the total 168 fatality cases with a breed identification image collected since 2013, pit bull-inflicted deaths with a supporting photo comprise 76% (128).

In 2019, 88% (29 of 33) of pit bull-inflicted fatalities had some form of a breed identification photograph, the highest percentage in our records.

Breed Misidentification Conflicts

The most controversial cases in 2019 did not involve pit bulls. Last year proved to be a year when certain dog breeds, which infrequently inflict fatal attacks, did so, including two show-circuit Doberman pinschers, two coonhounds and a pair of rescue great danes. All of these dogs fatally attacked their owner. Of these three deaths, only the coonhounds lacked a recent identification image, though the victim's husband is seen with one redbone coonhound on Facebook in 2012.

2019 also marks the first year when our nonprofit had to reach above and beyond to show some readers that pit bulls were not involved in several fatal attacks. This fury was primarily seen on our social media pages after the coonhound and great dane fatalities, but was also present after a husky killed a newborn. Both great danes and huskies killed 7 or more people during the 20-year CDC study period (1979 to 1998). Huskies continue to rank among the top 7 killers since 2005.

Summary

81% of dog bite fatality cases in 2019 had some form of a breed identification photograph, the highest in our records. Our nonprofit collected nearly half of these images through our research and FOIA efforts. This additional level of photographic evidence is on top of the 1,000 plus multi-sourced news articles we collected and 18 public information requests we sent to various coroner's offices, police and animal control departments for 48 dog bite fatality victims in 2019.

What continues to be troubling is the number of cases involving dogs taken into quarantine after a fatal attack (81% in 2019), but few police/shelter agencies release an identification image. We then can only rely on the news media being at the scene, social media images or obtaining an image through a FOIA request. Releasing a breed ID photograph after a deadly dog attack should be standard protocol, like Riverside County Animal Services does after all significant attacks.

Riverside County: 2019 fatal attack, 2019 nonfatal attack, 2019 nonfatal attack.

2019 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs

Lana Bergman - Joshua Tree, California

Photos of two of four fatally attacking pit bulls (social media & news media)

DogsBite blog ::

81% of All Dog Bite Fatalities Had Breed Identification Images

2019 Fatal Dog Attack Breed Identification Photographs

Lana Bergman - Joshua Tree, California

Ed Stanley - Amarillo, Texas

Patricia Henson - Tucson, Arizona

Ashton McGhee - Guthrie, Kentucky

Elaine Richman - Houston, Texas

Angela Johnson - Anza, California

Nancy Burgess-Dismuke - Greenville, South Carolina

Johnnie Garner - Lubbock, Texas

Jacari Long - Salisbury, North Carolina

Tanner Kinnamon - High Springs, Florida

Jimmy Grigg - Galveston County, Texas

Jaysiah Chavez - Fresno, California

Johana Villafane - Irving, Texas

Isaiah Geiling - Louisville, Kentucky

Robert Quick - Fort Madison, Iowa

Crystal Pearigen - Bakersfield, California

Nicholas Farris - Newman, California

Maria Crawford - Ventura, California

Brian Butler - Gilbertsville, Kentucky

Ruth Flores - Gainesville, Georgia

Homer Utterback - Uniontown, Pennsylvania

Mario Moore - Memphis, Tennessee

Nelson Cabrera - Irving, Texas

Emma Hernandez - Detroit, Michigan

Adrieanna O'Shea - Knox County, Tennessee

Arlene Renna - Pleasant Valley, New York

Baby "Doug" Doe - Granite Bay, California

Alan Bruce - Bennington, Oklahoma

Morgan Crayton - Hampton, Virginia

Steven Thornton III - Louisville, Kentucky

Dustin Bryan - Modesto, California

Brandy Boschen-O'Dell - Bay City, Michigan

Mary Matthews - Clearcreek Township, Ohio

Janet D'Aleo - Suffield, Connecticut

Lasaro Macedo - Madera, California

Lorena Cordova - Dacula, Georgia

Cledith Davenport - Broken Bow, Oklahoma

Melissa Astacio - Somerset, Massachusetts

Medessa Ragsdale - Houston, Texas

Post Publication Identification Photographs

Wayne Pattison - Lumberton, Texas

Benjamin Cobb - Hazel Park, Michigan

How We Track Photograph Sources