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

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

Jacqueline Summer time Beard was pronounced dead Friday by the Franklin County coroner after native residents called the police to report a suspicious automobile, the sheriff's office mentioned. Officers found the automotive with Beard's physique inside it in a rural space exterior Crimson Bay, close to the Mississippi line, according to the Facebook post.

Beard is believed to have been attempting to contact the canine's proprietor — whom the sheriff's workplace identified as Brandy Dowdy, 39 — when the dogs 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 worker of the Public Well being Division. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier within the week in which the dogs attacked a girl who was strolling. The lady remains hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived on the scene, several canines began attacking the residents, inflicting one among them to maintain minor injuries and a number of the canines to be euthanized immediately, the sheriff's office said. Officers then discovered Beard's physique within the automobile, the sheriff's workplace stated.

Dowdy was charged with manslaughter and is being held without bail, public information show.

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

The Public Health Division did not instantly respond to a request for comment.