Charges filed in fatal dog mauling
The owners of two dogs that fatally mauled a 22-year-old Port Huron woman are facing 90-day misdemeanors.
Andrew Scott Miller and Jessica Rae Johnson will be charged with having unlicensed dogs, which carries a 90-day sentence and/or $500 fine.
St. Clair County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Steve Guilliat said the charges were authorized Wednesday.
Dog licenses mandated by law, but difficult to enforce
Guilliat said he did consider charges of having a dangerous dog causing death, but because Rebecca Hardy trespassed onto the property where the dogs were contained, there was no history of the dogs biting anyone and the manner of death being ruled a suicide, the incident didn't meet legal requirements.
The dogs were not licensed, according to police.
Witnesses told police Hardy climbed the fence at 1721 10th St. and was pulled into the yard by a pit bull and husky Dec. 3.
Witness: Hardy climbed fence, pulled in by pit bull
Hardy was taken to a local hospital before being flown to Royal Oak Beaumont where she died.
The attack resulted in extensive injuries to Hardy, including the loss of both ears, a portion of her nose and an eye, according to the police report obtained from the Port Huron Police Department through a Freedom of Information Act request. Her carotid artery had been severed, the trachea was damaged, her cervical spine was broken and there was possible damage to the jugular.
Interviews included in the police report state Hardy was not acting abnormally before the attack. Those interviewed said Hardy had a history of substance abuse and had been suicidal in the past. She had been arrested on a charge of drunken driving in Huron County about a week prior to her death.
Hardy's manner of death was ruled suicide. Toxicology results showed Hardy had alcohol and marijuana in her system and traces of cocaine.
The pit bull and husky and one puppy at the home were euthanized following the attack with the owners' consent.
Contact Liz Shepard at (810) 989-6273 or lshepard@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @lvshepard.
