Woman, 25, mauled to death by her boyfriend’s two pit bulls when they turned on her as she fed them
By SNEJANA FARBEROV
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A 25-year-old North Carolina woman has died after being attacked by her boyfriend’s two pit bulls during feeding time.
Katherine Atkins’ body was discovered Monday evening near the pets’ pen set up in the backyard of her Kernersville home.
A roommate of Atkins and her boyfriend, Albert Jacobs, told police that the couple raised the animals from the time they were puppies.
According to the man, the 25-year-old woman went inside the pit bulls’ enclosure to give them food because Jacobs was running late from work, the news site DigTriad reported.
Following the attack, the pit bulls were taken into custody by animal control officials and put down.
A necropsy will be performed on the animals’ remains to determine if a medical condition, such as a brain tumor, may have caused them to turn on their caretaker, the station MyFox8 reported.
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office described the incident as a terrible tragedy. Jacobs is not expected to face any charges in connection to his girlfriend’s death.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at a home in the 2700 block of Stable Hill Trail in Kernersville at around 6.25pm Monday after getting a report about a dog mauling.
Atkins and Jacobs‘ roommate reportedly told officials that he came home and discovered the woman’s body lying in the backyard. The couple’s two pit bull were running loose outside their enclosure.
Capt. Willard Shepherd said Atkins regularly fed the animals, and there was no history of aggression with the two pit bulls.
According to Jacobs’ Facebook page, he and Atkins had been dating since 2008.
The group DogsBite.org, which tracks incidents involving dog maulings, reported that in the eight-year period from 2005 to 2012, pit bulls killed 151 Americans and accounted for 60 per cent of the total recorded deaths.
So far this year, pit bulls and pit bull mixes have killed at least 19 people across the U.S., more than a dozen of them younger than 8 years old.
Read more:
- Kernersville woman mauled to death by dogs
- Sheriff: Woman Killed By 2 Pit Bulls In Kernersville | digtriad.com
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-NC woman fatally mauled when she goes to feed boyfriend’s 2 pit bulls, deputies say
-Kernersville woman mauled to death by dogs
-2 Pit Bull Kill Katherine Rene Atkins At Boyfriend’s Home
-Katherine Atkins – 25-years old | Kernersville, NC
-North Carolina Fatal Pit Bull Maulings – DogsBite.org
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American Pit Bull Terrier
POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG BREEDS
This is a list of dog breeds that have a history of being potentially dangerous to people, especially children. Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education and Awareness understands that any dog has the ability to bite or inflict serious harm to humans. This list consists of several dog breeds that have a higher than average number of recorded human fatalities. Please use extreme caution if you choose to bring one of these breeds into your home. Rental communities and homeowners insurance may restrict many of the dog breeds on this list due to the likelihood of a serious incident.
Pit Bulls, Mastiff, and Rottweiler lead in fatalities and are listed first. The rest of the breeds are listed in alphabetical order:
Pit Bull Terrier Family
- American Bulldog
- American Pit Bull Terrier
- American Staffordshire Terrier
- English/Standard Bull Terrier
- Miniature Bull Terrier
- Olde English Bulldog
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Mastiffs