Alabama woman killed by pack of canine; owner charged with manslaughter

An employee of the Alabama Department of Public Well being was killed by a pack of canines in the northwestern a part of the state final week as she was responding to a report about one other assault involving the same dogs earlier within the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office mentioned Friday on Facebook.

Jacqueline Summer Beard was pronounced useless Friday by the Franklin County coroner after local residents known as the police to report a suspicious automobile, the sheriff's workplace stated. Officers found the car with Beard's body inside it in a rural space outside Crimson Bay, close to the Mississippi line, based on the Facebook put up.

Beard is believed to have been trying to contact the dog's owner — whom the sheriff's office recognized as Brandy Dowdy, 39 — when the dogs killed her, the sheriff's office stated.

AL.com, the web site of several Alabama newspapers, reported that Beard was a 58-year-old environmental supervisor and a longtime employee of the Public Well being Department. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier in the week through which the dogs attacked a girl who was strolling. The woman remains hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, several canines began attacking the residents, inflicting certainly one of them to maintain minor accidents and a number of the canines to be euthanized immediately, the sheriff's workplace mentioned. Officers then discovered Beard's body in the automotive, the sheriff's office mentioned.

Dowdy was charged with manslaughter and is being held without bail, public records show.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace couldn't immediately be reached for remark.

The Public Well being Division didn't instantly reply to a request for comment.