PICKAWAY COUNTY, Ohio — A mother and her son were arrested in Pickaway County days after a 73-year-old woman was attacked by dogs.
Susan and Adam Withers were arrested on Monday and charged with involuntary manslaughter and failure to restrain a vicious dog. The charges stemmed from the death of Jo Echelbarger.
Pickaway County Prosecutor Judy Wolford said Echelbarger was working in her flower beds in front of her home on Kildow Court in Ashville when she was attacked by two dogs.
Echelbarger suffered serious injuries from the attack and went into cardiac arrest on the way to Grant Medical Center. She was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital.
When police arrived at the scene of the attack, an officer fatally shot one of the dogs after it became aggressive toward him, according to Wolford.
The other dog ran away, and later attacked and killed a dog near Teays Valley East Middle School.
The attacking dog returned to Kildow Court where it was also killed, but the prosecutor did not say whether an officer shot the dog.
The Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office and the Pickaway County Dog Warden assisted with the investigation.
Susan and Adam are expected to appear in court on Tuesday.