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

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

Jacqueline Summer time Beard was pronounced dead Friday by the Franklin County coroner after local residents known as the police to report a suspicious vehicle, the sheriff's office mentioned. Officers discovered the automobile with Beard's physique inside it in a rural area exterior Pink Bay, close to the Mississippi line, in accordance with the Fb put up.

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

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 Department. It reported that on Friday morning, she was following up on an incident earlier within the week by which the canines attacked a girl who was walking. The lady stays hospitalized in Mississippi, AL.com reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, several dogs started attacking the residents, inflicting considered one of them to sustain minor accidents and a few of the canines to be euthanized immediately, the sheriff's workplace said. Officers then discovered Beard's body within the car, the sheriff's office mentioned.

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

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

The Public Well being Department didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.