A South Carolina woman was left with “nothing but the bone” on her arm following a pit bull attack last month, a court has heard.
Kyleen Waltman, 21, was walking down a street in Honea Path, Abbeville County, on 21 March when she was badly mauled by three pit bulls.
Recalling what he and his deputies saw after the attack on Ms Waltman in court on Thursday, Abbeville County sheriff’s investigator Lt Jeffrey Hines said her injuries were among the worst he had seen.
“She had bites from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet, including her whole entire body,” Lt Hines reportedly told the court. “It was one of the more gruesome animal attacks that I’ve ever seen in my career.”
He said Ms Waltman, who remains in hospital care, also had “her whole tricep removed and nothing but the bone on her left arm”.
As WYFF reported on Friday, Lt Hines explained how a local farmer stopped to intervene to help Ms Waltman, but one of the three animals attempted to bite him, so he fired his pistol.
Lt Hines said that caused the pitbulls to run away, and Abbeville County sheriff’s deputies and emergency responders then arrived at the scene and Ms Waltman was taken to hospital.
The sheriff said he later visited her in hospital and took pictures of her injuries as evidence against Justin Minor, who has been charged with three counts of owning dangerous animals attacking a human, according to WYFF.
He also faces charges on three counts of a rabies violation and allowing dangerous animals off his property, which was holding 11 dogs taken by authorities, Lt Hines said in court.
The three pit bulls – two of whom were allegedly involved in another attack in December – have been put down, Lt Hines said.
Charles Gross, an attorney for Mr Minor, asked the court on Thursday to dismiss the charges but was refused by the judge, and also questioned the December incident.
“There’s been no connection made as far as whether these were the same dogs from the Christmas Eve incident,” Mr Gross said.
“While this is a tragic situation, it does not necessarily mean that it’s a criminal situation, and I would just ask everybody to remember the presumption of innocence,” the attorney argued.
Mr Minor, whose bond was set at $15,000 following his arrest days after the attack, will appear in court again at a later date. It was not clear if he had entered a plea.
