Alabama woman killed by pack of canines; proprietor charged with manslaughter

An employee of the Alabama Department of Public Health was killed by a pack of dogs within 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 stated Friday on Fb.

Jacqueline Summer season Beard was pronounced dead Friday by the Franklin County coroner after local residents referred to as the police to report a suspicious automobile, the sheriff's office said. Officers discovered the automobile with Beard's physique inside it in a rural space exterior Purple Bay, near the Mississippi line, in accordance with the Facebook submit.

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 website of a number of Alabama newspapers, reported that Beard was a 58-year-old environmental supervisor and a longtime worker 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 woman who was strolling. The woman stays hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, several canines started attacking the residents, causing one in all them to maintain minor accidents and a number of the dogs to be euthanized instantly, the sheriff's workplace stated. Officers then found Beard's body in the car, the sheriff's office said.

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

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

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