Susan and Adam Withers, owners of dogs Apollo and Echo, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and failure to confine a dog after their dogs fatally mauled a 73-year-old woman, Jo Ann Echelbarger, in Ohio. Pathology reports revealed that the dogs had cocaine in their systems. Apollo had previously attacked another dog and its owner, leading to him being designated as dangerous. Weeks before the fatal attack, Adam Withers had been arrested for erratic behavior and admitted to using cocaine. The deadly attack occurred when the dogs got loose and attacked Echelbarger while she was gardening between her condo and the Withers’. Stanley Echelbarger, Jo Ann’s husband, witnessed the attack and pleaded with police to shoot the dogs. The dogs were killed by police after the attack. Vets found trace amounts of cocaine in the dogs’ livers, confirming their exposure to the drug. The Withers had a history of not following condo association rules regarding their dogs, with one previous attack on a woman and her puppy resulting in serious injuries. This previous incident led to Apollo being designated as a dangerous dog, triggering additional requirements for the Withers. The lawsuit filed by the condo association, the previous attack on the woman and her puppy, and the negligence of the Withers in following dog regulations all contributed to the more serious charges being filed against them in the Echelbarger case.
Note: The image is for illustrative purposes only and is not the original image of the presented article.
