Pictured: Girl, one who was mauled to death by seven pit bulls in back yard of her home as mother and grandparents slept inside
- Monica Renee Laminack slipped unnoticed into the backyard of her family's home and was set upon by the seven pit bulls
- Her mom Summer, 18, was one of three adults and two children inside the house at the time of the attack
- The dogs have been euthanized
- Criminal charges are expected to be brought against the family
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A toddler who slipped outside through a doggie door was mauled to death by her family's seven pit bulls in the backyard while the attack went unnoticed by the child's mother and other relatives inside their home, a southeast Georgia sheriff said on Thursday.
Bryan County Sheriff Clyde Smith said the child's grandmother told investigators she was lying in bed when she heard the pit bulls and pit bull mixes barking, and she looked outside her window to see them dragging the girl. Smith said she began yelling, ‘They're killing Monica!’
Tragically it was too late. Monica Renee Laminack, who would have turned two in June, was dead by the time an ambulance arrived on Wednesday evening.
Monica Renee Laminack, who would have turned two in June, as mauled to death by her family's seven pit bulls in the backyard of their Georgia home
‘The 18-year-old mother ... picked the child up and stayed with it, but she knew the child was dead at that time,’ the sheriff said.
Animal control officers used drugs to euthanize the dogs at the home on a rural road in tiny Ellabell, about 30 miles west of Savannah.
Deputies found the girl's shoes, diaper and shredded clothing scattered across the fenced-in yard, Smith said.
‘They had dragged the child all over the yard. ... They tore her clothes all up,’ Smith said.
Mom Summer Laminack, 18, 'picked the child up and stayed with it, but she knew the child was dead at that time,' the sheriff said
Deputies found Monica's shoes, diaper and shredded clothing scattered across the fenced-in yard after the horrific attack
The toddler lived in a modest, two-story house tucked away from the main road. The sheriff said four generations of the same family shared the home, including the child's 18-year-old mother, grandparents and two uncles who are still young boys.
The girl's grandmother, Michelle McIntyre, sat weeping on the tailgate of a pickup outside the home Thursday. Summer Laminack, the child's mother, sat next to her staring silently at the ground.
‘She's in shock,’ Barbara Brauda, a friend who was visiting the family, told The Associated Press before a man approached and asked a reporter to leave the property.
‘She hasn't been doing a whole lot of crying because she's still numb.’
Monica Renee Laminack, who would have turned two, was killed by family pit bulls at this Georgia home on Wednesday night
The sheriff said at least three adult relatives were inside the home when the dogs killed the girl outside.
No criminal charges had been filed Thursday. Smith said he expects charges will be brought after he's had a chance to discuss the case with the district attorney and the girl's family has been given time to hold her funeral.
‘I can see child neglect at the very minimum,’ Smith said.
Relatives told investigators the dogs that mauled the child were essentially family pets - a mother dog and six offspring from a litter she had about 16 months ago, the sheriff said.
The dogs had their own doggie doors that let them come in and out of the house as they pleased.
The family told deputies the dogs had never attacked a person, though one of them might have killed a cat, Smith said. He said relatives insisted the toddler would play with the dogs and even ‘use them as pillows while watching TV.’
Vicious attack: The two-year-old girl was mauled to death by seven pit bulls (not pictured), who were later put to death
Smith said the dogs looked healthy and well-fed, and investigators found no signs they were being used as fighting dogs by their owners.
‘They said they have never been aggressive to other people,’ he said. ‘Why they got started I have no idea.’
Christy Lamica lives across the street from the home where the girl was killed. She said she's seen neighbors walking pit bulls on leashes along the street but isn't sure where the owners live.
‘Everybody on this street has dogs, and everybody pretty much keeps to themselves,’ said Lamica, who said she doesn't know the family of the mauled toddler. ‘Their dogs don't get out, and we never hear anything from them. I'm home all day, and I've never had issues.’
According to officials, the family had nine dogs in total, and the child often played with all of them.
The two dogs that were not involved in the attack were spared. They were not pit bulls.
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These dogs are ticking time bombs and should be strictly controlled across the country. I was working near my grandmother's fence today, and her neighbor's 4 pitbulls were jumping, growling, and barking viciously at me. The neighbor called over to me, saying,"Oh, don't worry, they're big babies! Their bark is worse than their bite!" I replied, "Well, the barks sure sound like they want to bite my face off, so I'm not buying it." She took them in shortly thereafter. That's my first up-close experience with pitbulls, and I hope it is my last. I've never been near a dog that I seriously thought would try to kill me if it could reach me. As if the stories like this one on DM weren't enough to convince me, today's experience certainly did.
- Disenchanted , Southeastern US, 30/3/2013 03:03
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