Two Pit Bulls were suspected in the death of a women merely for being THERE... (read the second, updated story after the first one)
http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/24244.asp
Death of pit bulls’ owner probed Police investigating whether dogs killed 22-year-old woman By AMANDA REAVY STAFF WRITER Published Monday, January 28, 2008 Springfield police are investigating whether a 22-year-old woman found dead in her home Sunday was attacked by two pet pit bulls...
Media reports indicated the two dogs weighed about 100 pounds each. They were taken into custody by animal control along with a pit bull puppy. Springfield Deputy Chief Clay Dowis told WICS Channel 20 that investigators are interviewing a man who lived at the home with the victim. He also said police believe the woman’s death was an accident. Kathy Wise, who lives across the street from the woman, said she and her 9-year-old son had seen a puppy at the woman’s residence, but was not aware of other dogs living there. http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/24244.asp AFTER an investigation:
Springfield woman died of drug overdose, not dog mauling, coroner says Last Updated 2/4/2008 4:58:53 PM Toxicology results reveal Amber Strode died from a drug overdose, Sangamon County Coroner Susan Boone announced Monday. Strode, 22, was found dead Jan. 27 inside her home in the 100 block of South Wheeler with dog-bite injuries. Two adult male dogs police described as pit bulls were also inside the house, and police described the scene as “gruesome.” “Amber died from a drug overdose and was not mauled or killed by the two pit bulls that were found in the residence,” Boone said in a news release. An inquest will held at a later date. Police had said that the dogs belonged to Strode's live-in boyfriend. The boyfriend apparently left sometime on the morning of Jan. 27 and returned later to find Strode dead in the master bathroom. He called police, put the dogs in a kennel inside the house and waited for police and emergency crews to arrive. Strode worked at an obstetrics clinic at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. -- Staff report http://www.sj-r.com/extras/breaking/index.asp#4426