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

An worker of the Alabama Division of Public Well being was killed by a pack of canine in the northwestern a part of the state last week as she was responding to a report about one other assault involving the identical dogs earlier in the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace mentioned Friday on Fb.

Jacqueline Summer time Beard was pronounced dead Friday by the Franklin County coroner after local residents called the police to report a suspicious vehicle, the sheriff's office mentioned. Officers found the automobile with Beard's physique inside it in a rural area outside Purple Bay, close to the Mississippi line, in accordance with the Facebook submit.

Beard is believed to have been trying to contact the canine's proprietor — whom the sheriff's workplace identified as Brandy Dowdy, 39 — when the canines killed her, the sheriff's workplace said.

AL.com, the web site of a number of 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 within the week in which the dogs attacked a woman who was walking. The woman stays hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, several dogs began attacking the residents, causing considered one of them to maintain minor accidents and a number of the dogs to be euthanized immediately, the sheriff's workplace said. Officers then discovered Beard's physique in the automobile, the sheriff's workplace mentioned.

Dowdy was charged with manslaughter and is being held with out bail, public information show.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The Public Health Department didn't instantly respond to a request for remark.