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

An employee 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 canines 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 car, the sheriff's office stated. Officers found the car with Beard's body inside it in a rural area exterior Pink Bay, near the Mississippi line, in line with the Facebook submit.

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

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 within the week by which the canine attacked a woman who was walking. The woman remains hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived on the scene, several canines began attacking the residents, inflicting considered one of them to sustain minor accidents and some of the canine to be euthanized immediately, the sheriff's workplace stated. Officers then found Beard's body in the car, the sheriff's workplace stated.

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

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

The Public Well being Division did not immediately respond to a request for remark.