Pit Bulls Who Mauled Owner to Death Were ‘a Little Bit Neglected,’ Authorities Allege

Authorities released disturbing new details Monday in the mauling death of a Virginia woman by her two pit bulls, and alleged the dogs had recently become “more isolated” with “less and less human contact.”

Goochland County, Virginia, Sheriff James Askew released the information at a news conference, saying he wanted to address skeptics who floated other theories about the death of Bethany Lynn Stephens.

The body of Stephens, 22, of Glen Allen, was found Thursday evening in the woods near an old family farm where she frequently walked her dogs, after her father called 911 around 8:20 p.m. to report that she hadn’t returned home. Initial findings from the medical examiner appeared to confirm injuries to the victim “consistent with being mauled by these dogs,” the sheriff said over the weekend.

“There’s been such a high volume of misinformation,” Askew said on Monday. While stating “I have no idea” what caused the attack, he added: “I can tell you that since this happened, I’ve spent a significant amount of time researching attacks by dogs of this sort, and while it is not an everyday occurrence, it’s not rare.”

“It happens with some frequency in this country, and I don’t want to disparage any particular breed, but if you do the research, you will find that many of these are perpetrated by pit bulls,” he said.

In response to reports that Stephens had received unspecified threats, or possibly been a victim of human violence or sexual assault, and that her dogs were protecting her when they were found with her body, the sheriff said: “It does not seem, from what we found on the scene, from the evidence that we observed, from the evidence that we collected, that narrative doesn’t fit.”

He said, however, “we are still following up on those” reports.

The apparent animal attack was so violent, Stephens was left wearing only one of her boots with her clothes ripped off and scattered, as depicted in images from the scene that were shared off-camera with reporters at the news conference, TV station WTVR reports.

Asked if Stephens might have been attacked by a wolf or a bear, the sheriff said, “there was no evidence of any larger animals there.” Preliminary findings from the medical examiner also revealed “the bite wounds on her head did not penetrate her skull. It just left marks,” which the sheriff was told were inconsistent with the bite strength of a larger animal.

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He corrected his earlier statement that the dogs appeared to be bred for fighting — “We have determined that that was false, they were not bred for fighting” — and addressed comments raised by some of Stephens’ friends who said the two dogs she’d raised from puppies were affectionate in her care.

The dogs recently allegedly “were a little bit neglected,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Blackwood. “She left the dogs with her father, her father was not taking care of the dogs, it wasn’t his responsibility, and she would come home maybe five times to the father’s house a week on average and take the dogs out, and so they became more isolated where the only contact they had was with each other, and it was less and less human contact.”

“I’m not saying that the family was neglectful,” Blackwood said. “They were kept outside, and they previously had been inside dogs” who “became a little distant from their owner towards the end.”

‘An Absolutely Gruesome Scene’

When deputies arrived on the nighttime scene in the woods, the sheriff said they spotted the dogs eating Stephens’ ribcage. He added that she had “incredibly traumatic wounds to her arms” as well as wounds on her chest and face.

The deputies were able to shoo the animals away from the remains, and while debating whether to shoot and kill the dogs at the site, a friend of Stephens’ arrived who said he could capture the animals.

“He was able to do that but it was not an easy task,” the sheriff said. “As you might suspect, it was very dark. We could not tell the state of the dogs at that point. But we were able to get them confined and away from the public.”

“It was only then that we were able to see the body and start collecting evidence,” he said. “As I had said earlier, this was an absolutely gruesome scene. Miss Stephens was terribly, terribly injured, but it was very apparent to us that she had been dead for quite some time.”

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Stephens’ family, the sheriff said, “are devastated. They are worn out. They are dealing with trying to piece everything together and filtering out the misinformation. They wish to remain private. It has been very difficult on them,” he said.

Toxicology reports on the victim’s remains are pending, and authorities have preserved the bodies of the two dogs, who were euthanized, for possible toxicology reports on them as well to aid in the investigation.

“I think it was in the best interests of pubic safety and for our community to [euthanize the dogs],” he said. “Once a dog tastes human flesh, it’s no longer safe to have that dog around humans.”

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