Alabama woman 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 final week as she was responding to a report about one other assault involving the identical canine earlier within the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace mentioned Friday on Fb.

Jacqueline Summer Beard was pronounced lifeless Friday by the Franklin County coroner after local residents referred to as the police to report a suspicious automobile, the sheriff's office mentioned. Officers discovered the automobile with Beard's body inside it in a rural area exterior Crimson Bay, close to the Mississippi line, in response to the Facebook post.

Beard is believed to have been attempting to contact the dog's owner — whom the sheriff's workplace identified as Brandy Dowdy, 39 — when the canine killed her, the sheriff's workplace mentioned.

AL.com, the web site of a number of Alabama newspapers, reported that Beard was a 58-year-old environmental supervisor and a longtime worker of the Public Health Department. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier in the week in which the canine attacked a lady who was strolling. The lady remains hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, a number of canines started attacking the residents, inflicting considered one of them to sustain minor injuries and some of the dogs to be euthanized immediately, the sheriff's workplace mentioned. Officers then discovered Beard's physique within the automotive, the sheriff's workplace said.

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

The Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Public Well being Division didn't immediately reply to a request for remark.