Posted on December 21, 2019 by Colleen Lynn

2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bull Kills 44-Year Old Female Owner in Somerset, Massachusetts

Melissa Astacio, 44-years old, died after being viciously attacked by her pet pit bull.

Pit Bull Kills Owner
Somerset, MA - A 44-year old woman died after being mauled by a family pit bull. Melissa Astacio suffered a seizure Friday evening in her Somerset home. Her daughter called 911 and said that her mother was having a seizure when the dog started to attack her, according to a press release from the Bristol County District Attorney's Office. Police were forced to Taser the dog before they could help the victim. Astacio was rushed to a Rhode Island hospital and pronounced dead.

The family dog is believed to be an 8-year old pit bull. The animal was taken into custody by Swansea Animal rescue, states the release. Photographs from the victim's Facebook page show a family pit bull named Amigo (also referred to as Diego) that is at least 7 years old. Astacio's mauling death marks the seventh adult, ages 40 to 49, killed by a dog this year. The victims are four females and three males. 86% of these deadly attacks (6 of 7) were carried out by pit bulls.

Astacio's death also marks another fatal attack inflicted by a family pit bull, where the attack began after the victim allegedly suffered a seizure. Earlier this year, Homer Utterback, 52, was brutally killed by his pet pit bull of 10 years after suffering a seizure in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. More recently, Dustin Bryan, 21, was killed by pit bulls while sleeping on the couch of the dog owner's home in Modesto, California. A family member blamed the fatal attack on a possible seizure.

GoFundMe for Victim

In a devastating GoFundMe written by one of the victim's daughters, we learned that Melissa Ausmus Astacio was a single parent to three girls of various ages. Elysandra writes, "On Dec. 20, 2019 my mother passed away unexpectedly. She suffered from seizures and the details still are unclear why, our family dog attacked my mother while having a seizure. My 13-year old little sister ran to get help but she passed away due to her injuries. I don't know how or what to do."

WJAR spoke to neighbors, some of whom had known Astacio since she was a little girl. Part of the 911 call is also played in the news video. Astacio was fatally attacked by her pit bull of eight years at her home in the 200 block of Lees River Avenue early Friday evening. A male neighbor who was not identified told WJAR that first responders carried the woman from her home over their shoulders. "They did not wait for a stretcher or anything … she was bleeding pretty bad," he said.

The family pit bull suspected in the mauling death of its owner in Somerset, Massachusetts.

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

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 December 21, 2019 by Colleen Lynn

2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Woman Killed, Another Seriously Injured by Three Pit Bulls in North Houston

Medessa Ragsdale, 44, was found dead after a vicious dog attack in north Houston.

Dogs Kill Woman
Houston, TX - One woman is dead and another severely injured after a vicious dog attack in north Houston, according to police. The attack occurred in the 5500 block of Arlington Street near East Hamilton Road. About 5:45 am police received a call from a man who said his wife was attacked and injured by dogs. Several minutes later, another person called who said he owned the dogs. According to him, the dogs also attacked a second woman, who he thought was dead in a ditch.

HPD homicide detectives are currently at the scene. The surviving woman was transported to a local hospital. All three dogs have been contained and are in the possession of animal control, police said. KTRK reports that all three dogs are pit bulls. The dogs' owner is being cooperative, police said. The case will go to the district attorney's office for review. This appears to be an off-property attack resulting in death and should fall under the Texas state felony dog attack statute.

The Two Female Victims

The injured woman is expected to survive her injuries, reports the Houston Chronicle. By about 9:00 am, the unidentified victim still lay dead in a ditch outside the dog owner's home. Horrifically, in an unrelated attack, a dog lay dead in a ditch across the street. Neighbors said the dead dog had been there for days. Neighbors said the attacking pit bulls had a history of violence, including previously attacking their owner and a home invasion attack on a neighbor a few years ago.

HPD Press Conference:

"This morning we received two separate calls about vicious animals. The first call dropped at 05:48 this morning where the complainant's husband called in and said his wife was attacked by dogs. Officers arrived at 05:52 and met the complainant and the husband at Courtland and Hamilton, where she had multiple dog bites. She was transported to Memorial Greater Heights in stable condition. She's going to survive her wounds.

At 5:55 this morning, the owner of the dogs that did the attack called the police and reported that his dogs had attacked a woman and she was lying in a ditch and she was possibly deceased. Officers tied both calls together and they came back to the scene and they found a woman, unfortunately who was deceased. She was bitten by some animals and that's why we are here.

Homicide was called to the scene and they are doing an investigation. The original investigation is that the dog owners -- when the officers went to the house -- he reported that his dogs probably attacked the lady. She's lying dead in the ditch. He's cooperative, but he's not giving any statements right now until he gets to homicide.

There are three pit bulls that we know. We don't know if they have any shots ... we have them contained. Harris County animal control is en route to take custody of the dogs. That is all we have at this time. We do not know the identity of the deceased lady yet. That is what we are trying to investigate right now." - Assistant Chief Pete Lopez, Houston Police Department

By December 23, the identity of the deceased female was still pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. The second female victim was 49-years old. "The two women were not walking together at the time of the attack," states the Houston PD website. A friend of the deceased woman said Medessa "was out here in the streets, but she was full of life." She also said the pit bull "with the ears clipped, the big gray and white one" was aggressive.

On January 2, we contacted the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. The office identified the victim as 44-year old Medessa Jean Ragsdale. The cause and manner of death is pending.

One collarless pit bull at the fatal dog mauling scene being led away by a "twine" leash.

Two other pit bulls at the north Houston fatal dog mauling scene before animal control arrives.

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

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Colleen Lynn

2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Man Killed by Pack of Dogs in Broken Bow, Oklahoma; Family Seeking 'Justice for Cledith'

Cledith Davenport, 79, died after being attacked by a pack of dogs in Broken Bow.

Man Killed by Dogs
Broken Bow, OK - On Tuesday, the McCurtain Daily Gazette reported that a 79-year old man and his dog were killed by a pack of dogs over the weekend. The newspaper is not online, but we were able to obtain some screenshots. McCurtain County deputies were called to the scene at 12:52 pm after a postal carrier found Cledith Davenport lying halfway in a ditch in the 700 block of Canoe Road. The man had been "repeatedly bitten" by the dogs and the pack also killed his small dog.

The postal carrier did not immediately recognize Davenport, reports the Gazette. She ran up to his home and began knocking on the door and shouting his name. After not receiving a response, she returned to her vehicle. Only then did she realize the injured man in the ditch was Davenport. In her statement to police, she said the canines were chewing on him. She then drove toward a neighboring home, where the dogs' owner resides, and called the sheriff's department.

Two deputies responded along with the Broken Bow Fire Department and McCurtain County EMS. They described Davenport as "severely bloodied" and had sustained serious injuries to multiple body parts, including his head, reports the Gazette. While at the scene, both deputies were approached by a cattle-mix dog. As the dog barked at them, a pack of 8 or more dogs ran to the scene. Several of those dogs had red-stained fur on their chests, feet and snouts, officers said.

Today, a family member began a "Justice for Cledith" Facebook page. There were up to 11 dogs involved in the deadly attack, all pit bull-cattle dog (blue heeler) mixes,1 states the page. "Laws need to change. Vicious dogs should not be allowed to roam free. Strict fines and jail time should be enforced for the owners," states the page. "People living their lives on their own property should not have to fear vicious animals coming onto their property and killing them and their pets."

The Owner of the Dogs

We located the dogs' owner on Facebook and confirmed this with a Davenport family member. In early September 2018, the owner's female pit bull-cattle dog mix had a large litter of puppies. There were at least three adult dogs at the home and possibly more. According to the Gazette article, eight of the dogs were seized. Four were sent to the Broken Bow pound and the other four were sent to the pound in Idabel. A dangerous dog hearing is scheduled for January 3, 2020.

Late Wednesday, KXII confirmed many of these details in the first "accessible to all" reporting of this man's mauling death. They also interviewed the victim's son, Aaron Davenport, who said that stricter laws need to be in place to prevent these attacks. "Just to keep people safe," Aaron said. "So this doesn't happen to anybody else -- because I promise you, nobody wants to go through what we're going through right now." Sheriff's officials continue to await the official autopsy report.

On Thursday, the state medical examiner's office determined that Davenport's cause of death was due to canines, reports KTBS. Authorities believe that eight dogs are responsible. The district attorney's office is seeking the destruction of these dogs. Outside of state parks in the county, McCurtain County does not appear to have a leash law. No criminal charges are anticipated. This dog owner is free to continue breeding "packs of dogs" and allowing them roam at large.

Adult dogs from pack, part pit bull and part cattle dog, seen on the dog owner's Facebook page.

Adult male and puppies from September 2018 seen on the dog owner's Facebook page.

1In case some readers do not know, the terms cattle dog, blue heeler, red heeler and Queensland heeler are interchangeable. We use the name "cattle dog" when referring to this dog breed.

Statewide attacks:
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma by Butch Bridges, a log of Oklahoma vicious dog attacks.

Posted on December 14, 2019 by Colleen Lynn

2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Multiple Dogs Killed Teenage Boy Walking Home from School in Hollis, Oklahoma

Victor Garces, 12, was mauled to death by dogs on Friday in Hollis, Oklahoma.

Dog Owners Arrested
UPDATE 12/18/19: On Wednesday, it was announced that two men were arrested in connection to the dog mauling death of a 12-year old boy. 53-year-old Jacob Benavidez and 44-year-old Ruben Benavidez, who are brothers, were arrested on charges of manslaughter in the second-degree and cruelty to animals. Victor Garces was killed by two dogs belonging to the brothers on Friday while walking home alone from school. Police shot and killed both dogs at the scene.

Court documents state the brothers deprived the dogs of food and water, and allowed the animals to be at large. A third dog at the scene belonged to the victim. Apparently, that dog came from the boy's yard, which is a block away from the attack scene, and tried to defend the boy. It's unclear if anyone witnessed that or the fatal attack. District Attorney David Thomas said the Benavidez brothers will make a court appearance in the next few days. Bond has been set for $75,000.1

Section 717: "If the owner of a mischievous animal, knowing its propensities, willfully suffers it to go at large, or keeps it without ordinary care, and such animal, while so at large or not confined, kills any human being who has taken all the precautions which the circumstances permitted, to avoid such animal, the owner is deemed guilty of manslaughter in the second degree." Second-degree manslaughter is a felony on Oklahoma and is punishable by up to 4 years in prison.

12/16/19: Teenage Victim Identified
The fatal dog mauling victim has been identified as 12-year old Victor Louis Garces. On Friday afternoon, Garces was mauled to death by up to three dogs as he walked in an alley on his way home from school. Harmon Electric Company employees found the boy's body and notified law enforcement officials. Oklahoma Third Judicial District Attorney David Thomas announced Saturday that a criminal investigation is underway concerning his death, reports the Altus Times.

The District Attorney's Drug and Violent Crime Task Force has also joined the investigation into the boy's death, according to the Altus Times.

"A full investigation is ongoing and will continue until we have all the answers regarding how this senseless death could have happened," Thomas said in the prepared statement. The Hollis elementary school, Sallie Gillentine, posted Sunday, "Hollis Public School will recognize a moment of silence at 8:10 am Monday December 16th in memory of Victor Garces." Garces was in the 6th grade. Currently, students and staff are collecting a love offering in memory of Victor Garces.

Late Monday Updates

Late Monday, KSWO spoke to relatives of the boy. Victor left school early on Friday and walked home alone, apparently because he was sick and his mother was sick too and could not pick him up. He only lived a few blocks away from the school. "How long was he laying out there, how long were those dogs eating my nephew, really how long?" asked Maria McMullin, Victor’s great aunt. Authorities shot and killed two dogs at the scene Friday and captured a third dog on Monday.

Amanda Perez, another great aunt of Victor, said the dogs "didn't just kill him, they were practically eating him." Perez said the dogs' owner "knew his dogs were vicious." The news video footage shows the dirt alley and the dog owner's dilapidated fence. The alley divides a row of homes from a fenced-in industrial yard. A clumped up red blanket is seen lying near the dog owner's fence in the alley. Family members are still in shock, reports KSWO. Victor's funeral is set for Saturday.

12/14/19: Teenage Boy Killed by Dogs
Hollis, OK - Family members say a teenage boy was killed by multiple dogs Friday afternoon, reports KSWO. As of late Friday night, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) had not responded to requests for information. A witness at the scene told KSWO the victim was a teenager. He was walking home from school just after noon when three dogs attacked him in an alley, according to family members. Police shot and killed two of the dogs; the third dog got away.

The video footage shows multiple law enforcement at the scene, including Hollis Police, Harmon County Sheriff's Office, OSBI and the Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s office. Hollis is a small city in the southwest corner of Oklahoma with a population just below 2,000. It is the county seat of Harmon County. We have no previous dog bite fatalities on record for this county, which lies on the border of East Texas. The nearest larger Oklahoma city is Lawton, about 90 miles to the east.

The Facebook Post

On the accompanying KSWO Facebook post, multiple people claim pit bulls are the culprits. Including Kim Glen, "Yes it was 2 pits. Yes it was a family member's dogs." Belinda Bennet, "I know an officer, it was 3 pit bulls." Zack Cress, "It was actually pit bulls, or at least 2 of them were. My kids live there and my ex knows the family." Also, Cyndi Pierce, "I live in Hollis and there was three pits that attacked a little 12 year old boy he was in my granddaughter's class." [sic].

Teenage Age Group

In our 14-year data set of 471 dog bite fatalities (2005 to 2018), teenage deaths are rare. Within the 10-18 years age group, there are only 7 victims and 5 victims fall between the ages of 10-12 years, which are "tween" years. There are only 2 teenage victims, a 13-year old and 14-year old. Yet during 2019, there may now be 3 of these deaths. That would mean that more teenagers (13 to 18 years old) have been killed by dogs in a single year than in the previous 14 years combined.

Hollis Public Schools recognized a moment of silence for Victor Garces on Monday morning.

Multiple residents commented that the dogs involved in the fatal mauling are pit bulls.

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

1Multiple names have invalid spellings in this article. "Benavidez" is the spelling of the brothers' last name, and the boy's last name is "Garces" not "Grace."

Statewide attacks:
Vicious Dog Attacks in Oklahoma by Butch Bridges, a log of Oklahoma vicious dog attacks.

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