Mother and Son Ignored Repeated Warnings About Aggressive Pit Bulls Before They Mauled Elderly Neighbor to Death

A mother and son whose two dogs mauled an elderly neighbor to death have been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, according to multiple news reports.

A jury in Pickaway County, Ohio returned guilty verdicts for Susan Withers and her son Adam Withers on Thursday, Feb. 13, after about six hours of deliberation, The Columbus Dispatch and the Circleville Herald reported from the courtroom. The pair were also convicted of confining, restraining and debarking dogs, WBNS-TV reports.

Authorities said the mother and son’s two pit bulls escaped their condo in Asheville, Ohio, and fatally attacked Jo Ann Echelbarger, 73, while she was working in her garden next door on Oct. 17, 2024, the Dispatch reports.

An officer who responded to the scene fatally shot one of the dogs after it showed aggression towards him, authorities said, according to WBNS-TV. The second dog escaped and killed another dog, before it returned to the home and was killed by police.

Per the Dispatch, one of the pit bulls was officially declared a dangerous dog in October 2023 after killing a neighbor’s dog. Citing authorities, the outlet also reports that Adam pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge weeks before Echelbarger’s death after police found him acting erratically with the dogs.

Defense attorneys for the mother and son said there wasn’t sufficient evidence or testimony to prove their clients had let the dogs out of the home, WKEF reports. Both Susan and Adam are expected to be sentenced at a later date.

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“My office is hopeful that these convictions will allow the family of Jo Ann Echelbarger to find some peace,” Pickaway County Prosecutor Jayme Hartley Fountain said in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Tuesday, Feb. 18. “We are very thankful for the work law enforcement put into this case to aid our office in obtaining the convictions.”

Echelbarger was a financial specialist and faithful blood donor, who “loved to keep mementos of her family’s achievements,” her obituary states. She is survived by her husband, children, and other family members.

In a statement shared after the verdict, attorneys for Echelbarger's estate, which is filing a civil case, said “we must recognize that this tragedy should never have happened in the first place,” according to WKEF.

“The failure to intervene cost Jo Ann Echelbarger her life,” the attorneys added, per the outlet. “We demand accountability beyond this courtroom to prevent another senseless loss.”

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