Ohio Family Files Lawsuit After Grandmother Mauled by Pit Bulls Found to Have Ingested Cocaine

The attack, which occurred in October, led to the conviction of the dogs' owners for involuntary manslaughter and raised questions about negligence by local authorities.

• JoAnn Echelbarger, 73, was fatally attacked by her neighbors' pit bulls while gardening at her condominium complex in Ohio last October.
• Pathology reports revealed the dogs, named Echo and Apollo, had cocaine in their systems at the time of the attack.
• The dogs' owners, Adam Withers and Susan Withers, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in February 2025 after ignoring prior orders to remove the dogs from the property.
• The victim's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging negligence by the dogs' owners, the condominium association, and the county dog warden for failing to act on warnings about the dogs' behavior.
• The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages exceeding $25,000 and punitive damages, with the family criticizing the government's handling of the situation as reckless.

3 Articles

New York Post People NDTV