Virginia Woman Mauled To Death By Her Own Dogs During Walk In Woods, Sheriff Says
Victim is 22 year old Bethany Stephens. Sheriff says victim was petite. Dogs were 100-120 pounds.
As was her habit, 22-year-old Bethany Stephens took her dogs for a walk in the woods near her childhood home in Goochland, Va., about 30 miles outside Richmond. But when she did not return home by Thursday night, her father grew concerned and called police, who made a terrible discovery. Stephens had been attacked and killed by her own dogs, police say.
Stephens "had defensive wounds on her hands and arms trying to keep the dogs away from her, which would be consistent with being attacked while she was still alive," said Goochland County Sheriff Jim Agnew at a press conference on Friday.
Stephens was being "for lack of a better term — guarded by by two very large brindle-colored pit bull dogs, who were very reluctant to be caught," Agnew said.
The sheriff himself seemed shaken recalling the scene, saying it was "absolutely grisly."
"In my 40 years of law enforcement I've never seen anything quite like it. I hope I never see anything like it again," Agnew said.
Stephens' friend, Barbara Norris told the local ABC-affiliate WRICthat the Glen Allen-resident had raised the dogs from the time they were puppies. And while Norris said she did not know the details of Stephens' death, "I know those dogs didn't do it."
Agnew said that while the medical examiner's findings are preliminary as they await toxicology results, "it was fairly obvious to us that she had suffered defensive wounds from the animal bites."
"This was not a homicide."
News stories about pit bulls attacking people abound. And owning a pit bull or a mix is banned or restricted in multiple municipalities across the country.
But pit bull supporters say the dogs' reputation of being inherently dangerous or aggressive is a myth.
"The biggest misconception is that the term pit bull refers to one distinct breed, when really it refers to at least four pedigreed breeds of dogs and then all these other dogs that get lumped into the category," Bronwen Dickey, who has written extensively about pit bulls, told Fresh Air's Terry Gross last year.
As for the dogs reputation of being natural fighters, "there is absolutely no credible scientific evidence of that," Dickey said. "You have specific sub-populations that have been used over time in the illegal pursuit of dogfighting, but they really can't be held up as the standard for all pit bulls in America."
Agnew said that while he did not know the dogs' background, "they would be dogs that you would suspect would be bred for fighting. Just in looking at them. They were big strong powerful dogs."
Stephens was "a very petite 5 foot 1, 125 lbs," Agnew said, estimating that the dogs each weighed somewhere around their owners' size.
The dogs were being held by animal control and were set to be euthanized, Agnew said on Friday.
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If she was all bit up, I'd say the dogs did it. Unless someone thinks a human attacker bit her to pieces.
Something is a bit strange...They say the dogs (pit bulls) weighted 100 and 120 lbs. I have never in my life seen Pit anywhere close to those weights. The average male American Pit Bull is 60/65 lbs tops.
I've had Pit's and those weight are simply not realistic.
Maybe they were a mix.
Probably an American Bull Dog, they look just like a pit bull but are much bigger at @ 90-120 lbs. I have seen 100 lb pit bulls (30 years ago) but they are rare but pit bulls are all over the map when it comes to size as I've seen little 25lb pits and huge 100lb pits. I think they were bred in weight classes (for fighting) by the breeders.
I have an American Bully, she is around 60 pounds and her legs are very short-and she's a sweetheart. Seems strange that the dogs would be protective of her body if they had killed her. Seems strange, though if other animals were involved, the dogs would likely have wounds on them too.
As a dog lover I do find that pits are different. Even the sweet ones have a peculiar way about them when excited, yes even friendly excited, they have a different intensity. I have known a few that were wonderful dogs yet I would not have one especially around children. I have found chows and akita's are the most devious and therefore dangerous, they are your best buddy until they can position themselves between you and the exit then it all changes, but there is an element that can make pits unpredictable. I did telephone cable repair for almost two decades and made friends with hundreds of dogs, you worked in their yards very often when no one was home. Learning to read a dog was super important and I was only bitten once by a dog I didn't even know was in the yard and it happened while I was talking to the homeowner. Never had a Rottie, Doberman or any of the dogs that frighten people do anything unexpected.