Alabama lady killed by pack of canines; owner charged with manslaughter

An employee of the Alabama Division of Public Well being was killed by a pack of dogs within the northwestern a part of the state final week as she was responding to a report about one other attack involving the identical canines earlier in the week, the Franklin County Sheriff's Workplace stated Friday on Facebook.

Jacqueline Summer Beard was pronounced lifeless Friday by the Franklin County coroner after native residents known as the police to report a suspicious vehicle, the sheriff's workplace stated. Officers found the automobile with Beard's body inside it in a rural area outside Red Bay, near the Mississippi line, according to the Fb publish.

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

AL.com, the website of a number of Alabama newspapers, reported that Beard was a 58-year-old environmental supervisor and a longtime employee of the Public Health Department. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier in the week during which the canines attacked a lady who was strolling. The girl remains hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived on the scene, several dogs began attacking the residents, inflicting one in every of them to maintain minor accidents and a few of the canines to be euthanized immediately, the sheriff's workplace mentioned. Officers then discovered Beard's body within the automobile, the sheriff's office said.

Dowdy was charged with manslaughter and is being held with out bail, public data present.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Public Well being Division didn't instantly respond to a request for comment.