A Detroit owner of pit bulls that dragged a 4-year-old boy from his mother and killed him have been charged with second-degree murder. The charges were announced Monday after the dog attack was described as a "harrowing example" of reckless ownership.
Prosecutor Kym Worthy stated, "the evidence in this case will show that these dogs saw this child as a meal."
The young boy had been walking with his mother last week when they were attacked by the pit bulls. Police had to shoot the dogs to free the boy's body. Three were killed and a fourth was caught and euthanized.
A civil suit against the defendants has also been filed by the boy's parents. Attorney Mark Bernstein said of dog attack injuries, "we get calls every day at our office about injuries caused by dogs. But this affects our region more profoundly - it's the death of a child."
Elsewhere in Michigan, police announced they euthanized three dogs who fatally mauled a 22-year-old woman who had entered their backyard. This dog attack is just one of many in recent months that have quietly reignited the debate about ownership of "aggressive" dog breeds.
A five-year-old Texan boy was mauled to death by two dogs in late October, a tragedy that invoked painful memories of a Central Texas girl's death in 2014. In that attack, the two-year-old was mauled to death by a friend's pit bull.
Meanwhile, back in Detroit, the charged of second-degree murder, manslaughter and possessing dangerous dogs causing death was filed in the 36th District Court despite defense attorney Francisco's Villarruel.
A candlelight vigil was held three days ago in Detroit for the young boy. When asked about the charges, the victim's father said, "I want him to feel the pain my son felt when those dogs were eating him."
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