Intruder Dogs Creep Into Neighbor's Garden Through Hole In The Fence, Kills Elderly Woman

A great-grandmother was brutally mauled to death by two dogs, which escaped from her neighbor's property through a hole in the fence.

Lucille Downer, 85, was found in her garden at Rowley Regis in the UK, last Friday suffering from a serious dog bite injury, reports BBC News. Though emergency medical help was provided, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The West Midlands Police said neighbors responded "very quickly" after the dogs escaped from the property. "The dogs will have unfortunately carried out a fairly sustained attack so there were multiple injuries, mainly caused as a result of the delay in getting into the garden," he said.

When the officers reached the scene, the dogs had already returned to their owner's property through the hole.

The animals were then tranquilized and moved to a secure location, after which they were put down. “The ownership of the dogs was voluntarily transferred to the police. Following specialist advice it was established the dogs could never be rehomed due to the violent act and should be humanely destroyed," said a police spokesman.

However, further analysis will be done to determine the breed of the dogs.

A 43-year-old local man, the owner of the dogs, was arrested in connection with the incident but was subsequently released on bail.

Meanwhile, Downer's family paid tributes to her. "Lucille was a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who spent her working years as a cook at Bromford House Care Home in West Bromwich. Lucille was born in Jamaica and emigrated to the UK in her early 20s. Since arriving in the UK, Rowley Regis has always been her home and her family will miss her dearly," her family's statement read.

In a similar incident in South Carolina, a six-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pit bull in January. The dog was taken in as a stray by the child's mother.

The mother -- identified as Victoria LaBar --had gone on Facebook initially to talk about the dog and how she wanted someone to adopt the pit bull. However, five days later she came on camera sobbing, narrating how the dog mauled her son to death. She added that her other dog and husband tried to get the dog off her son, but was unsuccessful. The dog responsible for the attack was later euthanized.