An infant has passed away after she was mauled to death by a pit bull. According to WDTN, the dog that attacked the 4-month-old belonged to the family.
On January 9, Dayton, Ohio police responded to a call that a baby was found unresponsive. According to the county coroner, the child had bled to death after being attacked by the dog in the middle of the night.
As WDTN reports, the 911 call suggests that the baby was discovered injured after one of her parents returned home just before midnight. The child was discovered on the floor. According to the parent, a family member was supposed to be watching the child when the attack occurred.
According to the Dayton Daily News, the father could be heard on the 911 call saying, “She’s cold. She’s gone.”
The 4-month-old has been identified as McKenzie Terwell and her death has since been ruled an accident. The dog that attacked the child has since been removed from the home and quarantined, WDTN reports.
A neighbor, Darleen Bohannon, told WDTN that despite the “Beware of Dogs” sign posted on the home where the infant was found, she said the pit bull “never appeared to be aggressive” before.
“It’s painful to have that young of a child taken out of your life because of a dog,” Bohannon said, adding that they never really heard the dogs make any noise “unless there was somebody [coming] around.”
She added, “I hope that they don’t let the dogs back to them. I hope that she can recover from the loss of her baby girl. And I hope the family just has some kind of peace.”
Police Find Dad on His Front Porch With Daughter in His Arms After She Was Mauled By a Pit Bull
It’s been reported by the Dayton Daily News that the mom was sleeping on the couch when the dog attacked the infant. The child’s father was the one to discover McKenzie. Law enforcement believes the mom as under the influence of prescription drugs.
By the time police arrived at the home following the 911 call, McKensie’s father, Parker Terwell, was on the front porch with his daughter in his arms. An affidavit reads, “Mr. Terwell said he just arrived home, and his girlfriend and mother of the child, Mary Shoup, was asleep on the living room sofa. Mr. Terwell informed officers that Ms. Shoup is on prescription medication.”
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The medications, which have been reported as “Alprazolam, Bupropion, and Sertalian,” were legally prescribed to the mother. “Known side effects of these prescriptions are drowsiness, cognitive dysfunction, and insomnia.”
It’s unclear if any charges will be filed as a result of McKensie’s passing.