Kathleen Taylor, Pensacola, Florida woman charged after 3 pit bulls maul 63yr old man to death. Animals had ongoing run ins with locals, with authorities warning woman to properly secure dogs.
A Pensacola, Florida dog owner has been arrested more than two months after her three pit bull dogs attacked and killed a 63 year old man.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons during a Monday press conference, said deputies arrested 35-year-old Kathleen Ann Taylor for negligent manslaughter after her three dogs killed a 63-year-old man Feb. 24 in the 400 block of Norris Avenue.
The man was walking in the area when he was attacked, Law and Crime reported.He was pronounced dead on scene close to the trailer home where he lived.
Upon her arrest, Kathleen Taylor was booked with second-degree felony charges and one count of homicide – negligent manslaughter.
‘A 63-year-old male was found with injuries to his head and torso. He was pronounced deceased due to these injuries,’ Simmons said during a Tuesday press conference according to the Pensacola News Journal. ‘He lived in a trailer on the same property, and it appears three dogs attacked him and ultimately took his life.’
Ongoing menace to community
At the time of the man’s mauling, the three dogs that killed the man were not secured in their kennels or yard.
Assistant State Attorney Erin Ambrose explained that a person’s disregard or negligence that leads, referred to as culpable neglicence, to a death can be considered criminal.
Taylor faces up to 15 years in prison for her second-degree felony charge, according to Ambrose.
The charges follow Escambia County Animal Welfare having had multiple run-ins with Taylor and various animals she’s owned in the past.
The woman ‘failed to properly secure her home or her kennels, or any other enclosure designed to keep her dogs from roaming free,’ said Simmons. He also stated that Taylor did not take any proper action for the housing of her animals though she had a history of issues with the agents of Escambia County Animal Control who fined her multiple times for letting her animals roam around freely.
Following the alleged attack on the victim whose name has not been disclosed, police officers stated that several neighbors who were chased by Taylor’s dogs filed complaints that the dogs posed a serious threat to their neighborhood.
‘She doesn’t have the proper housing and obviously doesn’t have the proper care for them,’ said Escambia Animal Services Manager John Robinson. As per the probable cause affidavit, when responding officers arrived at the scene, the victim was found on the ground, lying ‘with both ears detached, along with his nose and left eye detached.’ The 63-year-old man also had several bite injuries on each of his arms.
‘Kathleen Taylor, she chose to have a pet, she chose to take on that responsibility, and she failed in that responsibility, and now a man is dead. What a tragedy,’ said Simmons.
Taylor is currently in custody without bond at Escambia County Jail.
