COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Two people are facing charges after two of their dogs allegedly killed a woman and a dog in Pickaway County.
On Oct. 17, a woman was attacked by two dogs while she was tending to her flower bed at her Ashville home on Kildow Court, according to the Pickaway County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. JoAnn Echelbarger was taken to a hospital in Columbus, where she died from her injuries.
Ashville police arrived at Echelbarger’s home, where both dogs were located. An officer shot and killed one dog, which reportedly became aggressive towards him, but the other dog ran away from the scene.
The second dog allegedly attacked and killed another dog near Teays Valley East Middle School, before returning to Kildow Court. Police said the owner of the dog that was killed was able to escape.
Officers shot and killed the second dog before it could attack anyone else, according to the Ashville Police Department.
An investigation alongside the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office and the Pickaway County Dog Warden, led police to Adam Withers and his mother, Susan Withers, who also lived in Kildow Court. Both were arrested on Monday without incident, and were charged with involuntary manslaughter and failure to restrain a vicious dog.
Adam Withers, 35, has previously been charged with owning a dangerous dog twice, facing two counts in May 2024 and one count in Dec. 2023. He was also charged with owning an unconfined dog in Oct. 2023. Those charges had been dismissed in court. Susan Withers, 61, had no prior charges related to dog ownership.
On Monday, a Circleville Municipal Court judge issued each suspect a $500,000 bond, and both bonds were upheld Tuesday during their respective arraignment hearings. Neither are allowed to have any contact with the victim’s family or to have any custody or control over dogs.
