Posted on July 3, 2013 by Colleen Lynn

2013 Dog Bite Fatality: Liberty County Woman Mauled to Death by Dog

Dog Shot and Killed
UPDATE 07/02/13: The Houston Chronicle reports that the dog that killed a 63-year old woman on Monday was shot to death Tuesday night. Since the attack, the animal has managed to evade deputies who mounted a serious search effort in the Woodland Hills subdivision where the attack occurred. Liberty County Sheriff's Office warned area residents to "NOT approach this dog" and to keep small children and family pets inside their home until the animal was captured.

Upon arriving at the woman's home on the day of the attack, deputies fired three shots at the dog. At least one struck the animal, according to the article, "that left a flesh wound in his neck." Liberty County sheriff's Capt. Ken DeFoor said, "The dog had yelped but had still been able to escape under the fence and flee after he was wounded that first time." It took two more shots by a deputy on Tuesday night to finally bring the animal down. The dog's remains will be tested for rabies.

Information was also provided about the pet dog the animal first attacked prior to turning on its caretaker Linda Oliver. Investigators said her small brown wiener dog suffered deep lacerations on its throat. Oliver had been feeding and caring for the stray dog for about two weeks prior to the attacks. After being severely injured by the dog, Oliver crawled from her front yard into her home and called her husband before passing out. She was dead by the time deputies arrived.

07/01/13: Rottweiler-Mastiff Mix
The KHOU article, along with others in this developing story, report that just after the woman told her husband she was bitten, the phone line went dead. At the time of the call, her husband was at work in Pearland, an hour's drive from his home. This is why he called Liberty County Sherifff's Office and asked that they check on his wife. The husband was still on the phone with the sheriff's office when the deputies arrived at his home. He told them to shoot the dog if needed.

The dog is now being described as a rottweiler-mastiff mix. In the video -- not the textual content of the article -- KHOU speaks with one of the victim's best friends, Lillian Pressly. The story she shares is unfortunately not uncommon: "Oh yeah. He's very dangerous," Pressly said, "especially if he doesn't know you. I can't even come over here. They have to put him up. The other dog is fine, no problem. But him, he has to be put up. So that I can come over and visit," she said.

This senior couple's error in taking in this large, known aggressive dog proved to be fatal.

View Raw footage video

07/01/13: Woman Killed by Dog
Liberty County, TX - In a developing story, authorities in Liberty County confirm that a dog killed a 63-year old woman today. The sheriff's office received a call from the woman's husband at about 10:30 am, asking that they check on her. The husband was worried because she had called him and said that the stray dog they had been feeding attacked the family's pet dog then attacked her. When deputies arrived at the front gate of the home on CR 6478, the dog confronted them.

One shot was fired at the dog and it briefly fled. The animal returned and deputies shot at it again, hitting it at least once. The dog then fled the property entirely. When deputies checked inside the home, they found Linda Oliver lying on the floor in the living room. She was deceased at that time, covered in dog bites, and had lost a large amount of blood. The stray dog the couple had been feeding for two weeks is described as large, long-haired and black with a white spot on its chest.

The animal continues to be on the loose; authorities are patrolling the area to find the dog.

View the DogsBite.org Google Map: U.S. Fatal Rottweiler Attacks By State

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Photo: KHOU

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Colleen Lynn

2013 Dog Bite Fatality: Chained Pit Bull-Mix Kills 5-Year Old Girl in Effingham

Picture of pet pit bull that killed Arianna Merrbach in Effingham.

Autopsy Results
UPDATE 06/26/13: The coroner released autopsy results about a young girl killed by a chained pit bull. Florence County Coroner Keith Von Lutcken said the cause of death is due to multiple sharp blunt force injuries; the manner of death is an accident. Herbie Christmas with Florence County Environmental Services said there is evidence around the owner's property that shows the dog had been living on a chain for a long time, a violation of the county's tethering ordinance.

Christmas is reviewing charges against the dog's owner for the violation. "You can just look at the area where the dog is," Christmas explained, "I mean, the ground is completely bare. All the grass had been killed, I guess by way of the chain dragging across it. Just indicative marks of an animal being chained indefinitely." Environmental Services is working with the Florence County Sheriff's Office in the investigation. More information about possible charges is expected next week.

06/25/13: Aunt Owned Dog
Herbie Christmas with Florence County Environmental Services confirmed that the dog involved in the girl's death was a pit bull-mix. Christmas added that the animal was full grown and belonged to the aunt of the deceased child; an earlier report said the pit bull belonged to the child's mother. This was the first deadly dog mauling in the county in his 27-years of service, according to Christmas. On average they respond to between 8 and 10 dog attacks or bites per week.

"The animal in question was on a chain," Christmas said, "and we do have a tethering ordinance in Florence County, which prohibits that activity under Florence County's section six." The county passed a tethering ordinance in 2010 that did not ban tethering, but set forth rules, including how a dog could be tethered and for how long, an 8-hour limit per day. The ordinance was created to prevent animal cruelty, not to prevent child mauling injuries and deaths by chained dogs.

"Pit bull type dogs are in my opinion like a loaded gun, you need to treat it like a loaded gun," Christmas said, "you need to make sure that people from the public can't get into that area, and most importantly, you need to make sure that your dog doesn't go to someone else's dog and cause that person injury." That is exactly correct, but leaves out the dangerousness of chained pit bulls and children -- a deadly combination and one overriding theme of this pit bull fatality.

Remarkably, about a year ago, Lulu Waddell, the only neighbor who has thus far spoken to the media, contacted Environmental Services in fear of her neighbor's three pit bulls. The department's solution was to "tie them up in the back," according to Waddell. Now a young child is dead. Ironically, the sheriff's office is "unsure what charges, if any, may be filed" against the owner of the dog. Yet, animal cruelty charges may be filed if the dog was not "properly" tethered!

Lastly, the victim's name is Arianna Jolee Merrbach (with an "M").

06/25/13: Pit Bull Kills 5-Year Old
Effingham, SC - Late Tuesday morning, a 5-year old girl was attacked and killed by a chained pit bull at a relative's home. Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken confirmed the death of Arianna Jolee Nerrbach who died on scene. The attack occurred at about 11:15 am at 7208 Fork Road in Effingham. Florence County EMS and Howe Springs Fire Department first responded to the scene. The pit bull was surrendered by its owner and has already been euthanized.

This is the third fatal pit bull attack in South Carolina since January 1, 2013.

Lula Waddell, who lives next door to where the girl was attacked, said that animal control seized 3 dogs from the home, including the one that killed the girl. Waddell said the girl grew up with the dogs and the animals were usually tied up in the backyard. Waddell said the little girl sweet and friendly. The girl's body will be sent to the Medical University of South Carolina for an autopsy. Investigators are questioning relatives. More information is expected to be released soon.

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

Photo: WNCT.com

Posted on June 21, 2013 by Colleen Lynn

2013 Dog Bite Fatality: Union City Boy, 6, Killed by Uncle's Pet Pit Bull

Nephi Selu pictured with Kava, the family pit bull that killed the child.

Mother Speaks Out
UPDATE 06/20/13: The 2-year old male pit bull named Kava that killed a 6-year old boy was euthanized on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the dog owner was identified as Kelala Keanaaina, a San Mateo police officer, and the boy's uncle. Now the boy's mother is speaking out for the first time. Tilema Selu said Nephi was her only child. She said that Nephi was very close to the dog, which is why this comes as a shock. She described it as "one best friend turning on the other."

"All of this is definitely a shock because it's almost like two best friends that turned on... like one best friend turned on the other," she said.

Selu added, "we felt confident that it was a protector of our children," showing that she entrusted the false Nanny Dog myth. During Dog Bite Prevention Week this year, even Donna Reynolds of Bad Rap admitted the Nanny Dog myth was fabricated. Reynolds may have made the admission because pit bulls continue to maul and kill children at an escalating pace. Unfortunately, once a myth gets rooted, it's difficult to stamp out, resulting in more dead children like Selu's son.

Kelala Keanaaina acquired the dog two years ago. According to SFGate.com, the dog was not neutered. The boy's uncle bought into the Nanny Dog myth too. Keanaaina said, "We brought the dog into our home as a pet to help protect life [Nanny Dog myth] and to help watch over [Beware of Dog sign], and by no means did we know that he was going to take life." [Pit bulls kill more human beings than all dog breeds combined.] - Bracketed, italic text added by DogsBite.org.

The ABC 7 article also said that at the time of the attack, Nephi was playing with his young cousins in the backyard. It was his cousins who said the boy had been "riding the dog like a horse" when it suddenly threw the boy to the ground and latched onto his head. One tried to pull the dog's stomach to get it off the boy and another grabbed his leash, trying to yank it away. When his uncle was alerted, he came outside and shoved his hand into the dog's mouth and the dog released.

Another Defense Attorney

Back at the SFGate article by Henry Lee that continues to be updated, we learned that attorney Harry Stern was also present at the boy's home on Tuesday with Michael Rains. Both work for a law firm that represents police officers in the Bay Area. Stern described the boy's injuries as needing "a couple of stitches," -- everybody, according to Stern, assumed he would be fine "after a couple of stitches." Stern said it was an "unfortunate tragedy" and the breed was irrelevant.

06/19/13: Relationship Clarifications
New information provides additional clarification on family members living in the home. The attack happened at the boy's grandparents' Union City home. The owner of the dog was the boy's uncle -- still the unnamed San Mateo police officer. The officer's wife and the boy's aunt, Iona Keanaaina, both also live at the Union City home. Defense attorney Michael Rains, now being called the family spokesman, said that Nephi Selu's mother lived at the residence as well.

A variety of "may" or "was" statements regarding whether the boy did or did not attempt to climb on the dog's back have been confusing in the flood of news articles as well. "May have attempted" is complete speculation and stems from the original statement from police Cmdr. Ben Horner. No evidence has arisen thus far that there was an eyewitness to this alleged behavior. So "was attempting" is hogwash and a horrible device used to blame this 6-year old boy for his own death.

Also included in this Associated Press article (published late Tuesday) is a quote from Keanaaina. She told KGO-TV, "[The male dog] played with kids, very obedient, he was never allowed in the house, stayed right at the door, so we never had any problems with him at all." Furthermore, to eliminate the severity of the head injury that killed this boy, Rains stated that the dog's owner "believed the boy's injuries were not very serious and went to work before learning he had died."1

06/18/13: Defense Attorney Appears
NBC Bay Area reported earlier that the pit bull that fatally attacked a 6-year old boy is owned by a San Mateo police officer. The information came from a relative and high-profile defense attorney Michael Rains,2 who represents police officers throughout the Bay Area. Rains was seen Tuesday walking into the home where Nephi Selu was attacked. The young boy was attacked on Monday at 11:30 am. He died several hours later at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto.

"I feel like all of this is a dream, like a bad dream," said the boy's aunt, Iona Keanaaina. "I wish I could just wake up."

The wife of the San Mateo police officer, Iona Keanaaina,3 said her family is so upset that they do not care what happens to the pit bull-mix named "Gava." She said that Nephi was an only child who just graduated from kindergarten in Union City. He lived with his extended family -- including her eight children -- at the same home. Keanaaina said her husband has been a police officer for nine years. The family pit bull was impounded and is being held for a 10-day quarantine.

06/18/13: Visiting Grandparents' Home
News about the latest pit bull fatality continues to unfold. Nephi Selu of Dixon was staying at his grandparents' home in Union City when the dog attacked. "According to family members, the boy was actively playing with the dog and may have attempted to climb onto the dog's back," said police Cmdr. Ben Horner. "The dog attacked the boy and bit him on top of his head." The owner said the dog "had never been involved in a biting incident in the past," Horner added.

Nephi lived in Dixon, but had been on an "extended visit" at his grandparents' home, according to police. Neighbors said the boy seemed to be living there and had been attending school in Union City. Arthur Kouns, a neighbor, said the family keeps two pit bull-mix dogs in the backyard. He said the dogs have not been a problem in the past and he only heard the animals barking "once in a blue moon." A Beware of Dog sign, however, is posted on the fence of the grandparents' home.

06/18/13: Boy Killed by Dog
Union City, CA - In a developing story, a 6-year old boy was killed by a dog on Monday. The attack happened at a home on Elizabeth Way about 11:00 am. A neighbor said the boy lived with his grandparents at the home along with several of his cousins. The fire department confirmed to ABC 7 News that the attacking dog was a pit bull or pit bull-mix. Neighbors told the news station that two pit bulls lived at the home. At least one of the dogs was taken away by animal control.

The SFGate reported that the boy died at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto. The boy has been identified as Nephi Selu. Police are expected to provide more information on Tuesday. The boy's death is not the first in the Bay Area to be attributed to a family pit bull. In 2011, Darla Napora, 32-years old, was killed by her pet pit bull in Pacifica. She was pregnant at the time. In 2010, Jacob Bisbee, 2-years old, was killed by three pit bulls at a relative's home in Concord.

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

1Such a nice touch Rains!
2Raines is painful to listen to "[The attack] is almost inexplicable" and "the dog was not vicious" even though it latched onto a boy's head killing him. It is his job, however, to defend the police officer dog owner.
3In the video the aunt said, "This is the first time they ever took a dog in." Her police officer husband was clearly aware of the miserable safety record of this breed. Why not our first dog be a pit bull (in a house with eight kids)?

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Colleen Lynn

2013 Dog Bite Fatality: Child Temporarily Staying with Aunt Killed by Neighbor's Dog

Ayden Evans, 5-years old, was killed by a bullmastiff while visiting a neighbor's home.

Victim Identified
UPDATE 06/13/13: The parents of a 5-year old boy mauled to death by a bullmastiff spoke out late Wednesday. Mica Evans, the boy's mother, said that her son Ayden Evans liked spaghetti and playing with Ninja Turtles. His mother said Ayden was staying with her sister for the summer, when he was allowed to go to a neighbor's home. That neighbor had a bullmastiff that attacked and killed her son. "I don't know the people he was with. Never met them. I don't want to," Evans said.

The boy's family is from Oklahoma. After learning about his death, Ayden's parents drove from Oklahoma to Arkansas to bring their son back home. The boy's father, Greg Moore, said they still don't know the extent of their son's injuries. The funeral director told them that Ayden cannot be seen -- It has to be a closed casket funeral. The parents are still awaiting the autopsy report. They had their son cremated. A memorial service is being planned for Ayden in Oklahoma.

"He should be home. I should not be taking him home in an urn." - Mica Evans

His parents clarified reports about Ayden being in Oklahoma during the recent tornados. The boy's family was affected by the storms, but Ayden was not there. He went to Arkansas for summer vacation before the storms hit, Evans said. His mother also cleared up rumors about her sister taking custody of Ayden prior to the attack. She said that is just not true. Evans hopes charges are filed against the dog's owner. She added, "I am upset with everyone, including myself."

06/12/13: Victim Still Unnamed
Garland County authorities have still not released the name of the 5-year old boy killed by a dog on Sunday. The child suffered "major lacerations to the head and neck," according to a police report. New ownership information about the dog, however, has been revealed. Mary Bournival, one of the 13 Justices of the Peace for Garland County and heads the committee for animal control, said, "The Geilings were taking care of the dog for their son, who is serving overseas."

"This is a situation where vulnerable people were unprepared and unable to ward off such a dangerous breed," she added. Bournival's committee has been discussing a new dog ordinance for months. The boy's death is a tragedy she feared would happen. "Our county does not have any regulations for dangerous dog breeds. All they need are rabies vaccinations. They don't need licenses, they don't need registration, they do not even need to be on a leash," Bournival said.

06/10/13: Killer Dog Located
Authorities in Garland County have located the bullmastiff that attacked and killed a 5-year old boy on Sunday.1 Authorities said the boy became upset and was crying. While a family friend was trying to calm him down, the dog came in from another room and attacked the boy -- it does not appear thus far the child was left unattended with the large animal. Details about how or why the dog fled after attacking the boy were not provided. The child's name has not been released.

06/10/13: Killer Dog AWOL
Over the last 12 hours, we learned that 50-year old Lynne Geiling of Jessieville owns the dog with her husband, according to Garland County Deputy Scott Hinojosa. Geiling told police she tried to pull the animal off the boy, but by the time she got them separated, the child had sustained serious injuries to his head and neck. The couple's dog, described as bullmastiff, allegedly ran away after the attack.2 As of late Sunday night, animal control was still searching for the attacking dog.

Deputies said the boy and his 2-year old sister are from Moore, Oklahoma. The two children had been staying with the Jessieville couple for about two weeks while their parents try to rebuild -- their home was destroyed in the EF5 Moore tornado. "You can't imagine, you know, what this family and friends are going through right now," Hinojosa said. Geiling and her husband are described as family friends. Authorities continue to investigate; charges remain possible.

06/09/13: Boy Killed by Dog
Jessieville, AR - A Garland County Sheriff's Office spokesperson confirmed that a dog killed a 5-year old boy on Sunday. The child was bitten by a bullmastiff in Jessieville off Highway 298, according to deputies. The child was transported to Mercy Hospital in Hot Springs were he was pronounced dead. Tragically, the boy's family was in town staying with loved ones after their home was hit by one of the two EF5 tornadoes in Oklahoma last month. Updates are expected shortly.

View Related video

1A separate article reported that Hot Springs Animal Control said the dog was killed by a resident on Monday.
2A "missing" family dog after a fatal dog attack is suspicious. Further, it appears no authorities have even seen the dog, calling into question whether the dog is a bullmastiff or not. The very people who likely offered the breed description, the dog's owners, are being investigated in connection to this boy's death.

Photo: Fox16.com

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