Ohio mother and son sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for fatal Pit Bull attack

It likely marks the longest criminal sentence for a dog attack in state history. The Echelbarger case was featured in a nine-month investigation published by The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and Canton Repository, all part of the USA TODAY Network. The investigation revealed how dangerous dog attacks across Ohio cause disfigurement, amputations, psychological trauma and death.

Echelbarger had been working in a garden plot on a patio between her condo and the Withers' condo in October 2024. Her 84-year-old husband who suffered from dementia and Parkinson's disease, witnessed the mauling from the screened-in porch.

"The way that she died, it was heinous. She was fully conscious. She was terrorized. She suffered and knew it the entire time," her son, Bill Rogers, at the sentencing. "So, I'll be quite straight with you: there is no hole deep or dark enough. There is no hell hot enough. There is no penalty harsh enough."

After losing his wife and home, Stanley Echelbarger, moved to a nursing home near Columbus. He died in March.

"This ended his will to live," Rogers said.

The Echelbarger family filed a civil lawsuit against Pickaway County Dog Warden Preston Schumacher, the condo association and property manager and the Withers. County officials declined to comment on the civil lawsuit.

One of the dogs that killed Echelbarger had previously been designated as a dangerous dog after it attacked another condo resident, Kimberlee Black, and killed her puppy in October 2023.

Under Ohio law, the Witherses did not have to put their dog down after the attack on Black. Instead, they were ticketed and required to buy a dangerous dog tag, post a sign on their property, keep the dog confined and walk him on a muzzle and short, chain leash.

Susan Withers obtained the dog tag 271 days after the attack on Black. At trial, police testified that the Withers' front door didn't latch and a towel had been jammed into a space that previously had a deadbolt.

Law enforcement shot and killed both dogs in the aftermath of the Echelbarger mauling.

At sentencing, Chafin noted that the Witherses showed little remorse and Susan Withers only cried when shown police video of her pit bulls being shot and hearing a description of her third dog being held at the pound. The judge said neither showed emotion toward their neighbor.

Morons!

GOOD!

Pit Bull owners also often tend to be the most irresponsible people, in terms of controlling their dogs.

They own these "loaded weapons" who are genetically bred to kill, and then they don't leash them, or leave them unattended.

It's like leaving a loaded gun on the kitchen table.

I've seen countless The Dodo videos of "pitties" being treated like they're tiny kittens or bunnies and just the sweetest things ever. It blows my mind. I don't care how laid back or friendly any pit bull acted, I would always be extremely wary of it.

And the reason is mostly of what R3 said, their owners. And I don't just mean sociopaths like this family, I mean the "pittie" owners who dress them up in little costumes and treat them like their children. They're nuts.

good. Irresponsible dog owners are a blight. Mandatory spay/neuter laws and prosecution of owners who's dogs get out and bite would go a long way towards better, safer dog ownership.

I was visiting friends in Florida who have a pit bull. I was sitting on the couch, opposite of the dog, watching TV. All of a sudden, the dog lunged at me. God knows what would have happened if one of the owners hadn't acted and restrained the dog.

Needless to say, that was the last time I visited them and I have no intention of going back, including feigning sickness when their son, my godson, graduated HS last May.

This ruling makes Judge Judy very happy. She hats pit bulls and their irresponsible owners equally.

They'd have gotten lower sentences if they'd used guns.

for me it's not a pitbull issue - I love them, have fostered scores of them and own one. But there's far too many idiots who believe that owning one makes them a bad ass.

I had to put up a gate because we have 3 very large dogs who regularly roam, often together. They inevitably wind up in my yard. One dog with good tempermant may not be an issue but you get 2 or 3 or more dogs-even if they have good tempermant - and one wrong move (especially by another dog) can result in the good dogs suddenly becoming a pack.

I am assuming the dogs in the incident were also not altered and more than one unaltered dog on the loose is the equivalent of a loaded gun- regardless of breed.

The Dodo has a clear agenda R4 and it is odd.

I get that a person may want to treat all animals humanely, but they frequently glamorize pit bull ownership and portray them as kittens. It's just odd.

My pitbull lets me brush her teeth and paint her nails. My (deceased) toy American Eskimo would try to rip your fucking throat out given half a chance. He was an asshole even though he was the size of a loaf of breed.

I think the Dodo and the like are trying to destigmatize pitbulls and I appreciate that. I could do with a bit less 90 pound dogs with human babies and bunny rabbits and kittens tho. You get the average idiot thinking that's normal.

loaf of bread. Jesus christ.

[Quote] for me it's not a pitbull issue - I love them, have fostered scores of them and own one. But there's far too many idiots who believe that owning one makes them a bad ass.

Oh shut the fuck up you exhausting cunt. I’m sick to death of people blaming the owners, not the breed.

ITS THE FUCKING BREED.

As if the only dog breed assholes own is pit bulls. Bad owners own all different breeds of dog. Yet pitbulls, fewer than 5% of all dogs in America, account for 65% of all fatal dog attacks in America.

Although I agree with R13 that the breed is definitely the problem, I don't discount R9's assertion that "there's far too many idiots who believe that owning one makes them a bad ass."

That part is true too. It's a huge part of "Thug Culture" and wannabe "Gangsters."

Also R13, you should stop the name calling. That's not cool.

Are you also tender to the touch r13?

Bad owners can exacerbate the issue, but any pit bull—no matter how sweet it might be—should not be trusted not to snap at any moment. They've been bred over many many years to be that way. That fact mixed with their having incredibly strong jaws that lock when they bite down makes them extremely dangerous. As harsh as it may seem, all pit bulls should be sterilized and the breed allowed to die out.

Doxing people and ridiculing them until they commit suicide also isn’t cool, r14. Yet “rescue chick” brags about being a kiwi farmer. And they hate and attack gays as well. Fuck her. I’m not at all surprised she’s one of those creeps who blames bad owners for pitbull attacks.

[Quote] Are you also tender to the touch [R13]?

When your pitbull snaps and murders you, I’ll laugh, stink crotch cunt.

R14…..R13 is correct in calling her an exhausting cunt. You have to be quite an idiot to say “it’s not a pitbull issue”. It certainly is.

Her mugshot will be goddamed fabulous.

Pitties are adorbs! They're nanny dogs!

This is for you dog haters.

An Anatolian Pyrenees is not a pit bull. I love dogs. I don't trust pit bulls.

Years ago my parents were practically held hostage in their house by a pit bull that had had puppies under the empty house next door. Every time they went out to get the mail or get in their car that damn thing would charge them. countless calls to the city went unheeded . After a couple of weeks of this shit I went over and got my dads pistol and as she came charging I put one right in the middle of her head. Lucky shot Im not that good ! Drug her ass across the street and threw her in a huge ditch,and after a few days there was nothing left but a few bones. As for the puppies,I hope something ate them too .

This dude on Youtube- Zeus the "Pitty" and his brother 'Percy the Pitty". This guy is as +dumb+ as a box of rocks. "simple".

Anyway, he isn't a complete dummy. Every time the dogs have a vet bill or need surgery he has a Go fund Me. His idiot Pitty fans pay out the nose for these dogs vet bills and then some. Plus the channel generates decent revenue.

(Zeus really seems like a sweetheart, Percy seems more like the 'will kill you when you least expect it!" type of "pitty".

Awwww so CUTE!!!!

They should punish all killer dog owners like that. I mean if they killed someone.

[quote]"This ended his will to live," Rogers said.

I am sure the fact that he was 84 years old also factored into his demise.

The man helplessly watched his wife mauled to death by pitbulls. Trust his son when he says it ended his will to live.

It’s usually pitbulls or pit mixes with these fatal maulings, but it’s other breeds as well. Way back in earlier Datalounge years do you recall the sad story of Diane Whipple? She was a popular SF lesbian lacrosse coach who got torn apart by her sociopathic apartment neighbor’s pair of big dogs, Presa Canarios. The dogs originally belonged to a high ranking white supremacist criminal who was serving multiple life sentences in prison.

R29 I do remember that. Your post made me look up the breed. They are banned in several countries but not the U.S., although the breed is not recognized the American Kennel Club. Maybe that's why you don't hear much about them.

Everything I read about their temperament makes them sound like pit bulls. They LOOK like pit bulls.

Chihuahuas bite people more often than any other breed. But they are so tiny, their bites are more comical than anything. Pits have incredible jaw power. What a hellish way to die.

r30 I find presa canarios even scarier than pit bulls.

Better picture

But they're so sweet....

There are actually people who train their dogs to be attack animals, and then do not properly contain and manage them, causing grievous harm to others. They both deserve the sentences they got,.

Maulface thread.

These dogs are trashy and, almost without exception, owned by trashy people. The punishment fits the crime, I’d say.

[quote]My pitbull lets me brush her teeth and paint her nails.

Yes, but you're the Dog Whisperer.

I hate to even look at them, honestly. They creep me tf out.

I can’t believe we have to put up with the presence of the odious rescue-chick here. Her involvement with Kiwi Farms should be enough to earn her a permaban.

[quote] my parents were practically held hostage in their house by a pit bull that had had puppies under the empty house next door. Every time they went out to get the mail or get in their car that damn thing would charge them. countless calls to the city went unheeded . After a couple of weeks of this shit I went over and got my dads pistol and as she came charging I put one right in the middle of her head

Love that story, R24.

Total badass.

That's how these dogs must be dealt with.

ZERO tolerance.

My son and his wife have one. It might be a mix. I think he was a rescue. They've had him for years. Now they have a child, my granddaughter. He seems like the sweetest dog ever. But I'm fully aware that some turn vicious on a dime. I don't know what to think. Yes, it crosses my mind but there's nothing I can do about it.

In my country all breeds of aggressive dangerous dogs are illegal. So this doesn't happen.

That's the only way to deal with this reoccurring problem. It's not like it's once or twice. I googled and these dogs kill between 30 and 50 people in the US yearly.

So these breeds have to be made illegal for the safety of society. Until the current animals die out - the owner of a dangerous breed dog that attacks and kills a human should be charged with manslaughter.

R42 Dustin, similar, good friends have a pitbull pet that seems extremely sweet and affectionate and well raised and trained. They have two grade-school children that spend a lot of quality time with the dog. I can only hope these parents are right about their own dog. Many are…. but some other pitbull owners with children have found out tragically that they were wrong.

Will you be surprised when one of those children ends up with horrific facial scarring or dead R44?

So far so good, R45, and they are past the most dangerous toddler/preschooler years. It does happen that there are lower-aggression pitbulls socialized well from birth, and loving caring owners, and it all works out wonderfully. But the data is the data — that one breed is two thirds of ALL dog bite deaths.

If one of these kids were to get brutally attacked, I would feel more sad than surprised.

I was walking on a sidewalk on a quiet street to my car. A guy was coming from the oppopsite direction with a dog on a leash I think was apit bull. As the man and the dog went by, the dog suddenly jumped at me. I was carrying a thick flannel shirt over my arm that protected my arm from the claws of the dog. But the shirt was ripped where the claws tore it.

The guy pulled the dog back, but then just kept walking along with the dog. Didn't ask me if I was okay, nothing. To me that is the usually the kind of person who owns one of these dogs.

R24 has the correct solution to that problem, R47.

Seattle woman arrested for off-leash pit bull attacks

Oh, shut up, R40. Everybody here loves chickie except you.

R48 Yeah if only I was white trash. Oh, well.

r50 I didn't post the disparaging posts about her; but I do view as suspect anyone who defends KiwiFarms.

R52, did she defend KF or did she just say she read it sometimes?

She has been a quite vociferous defender over the years

Huh. I’ve liked rescue-chick in here over the years but I have seen the malevolence of Kiwi Farms when a friend got doxxed and mass-harassed. They are evil people.

People are sick in the head. The mental health crisis can't be overstated. So much misplaced emotion and Peter-Panism, for starters. And Jesus the fucking drugs. Mountains and mountains and mountains ....

Lalalalalalala

The dogs were high on cocaine

WTF R58???!!!

I honestly thought you were joking.

That is just fucking insane.

10 years is not enough for these sick assholes.

They should be locked up for life!

The family is suing the owners as well as their mother’s condominium association and the county dog warden, accusing them of negligence and failing to act on several red flags about the Witherses and their dogs’ behavior.

That included police body camera footage showing officers responding to reports that Echo and Apollo had ingested Adam Withers’ cocaine just weeks before the horrifying deadly attack, the lawsuit claimed.

Adam and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter over Echelbarger’s death.

Adam’s mother, Susan Withers, was also found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

The officers expressed frustration that the dog warden was unresponsive, according to the filing.

The pit bulls were allowed to live at the condominium even after the Witherses failed to comply with an order to get them out, the lawsuit claims.

Instead, Adam Withers taunted building management, the lawsuit alleged, citing social media posts, including one saying that “humans are the problem.”

“Never ask a pitbull owner to choose between you and their pitbulls. Because they will choose, and it won’t be you,” one Facebook post read.

“It’s reckless,” Rogers told the outlet.

“I feel like they were gambling with a lot of people’s lives that day, and she was the one who paid the price,” he said.

The wrongful death suit seeks compensatory damages exceeding $25,000 along with punitive damages.

“We are looking for justice,” said Rex Elliot, the family’s attorney, saying that local authorities “had a responsibility to take … those dogs out of there.”

Jesus Christ R58. This is heartbreaking. The picture of the lady who was killed and her husband was lovely. You can tell that they were a lovely and attractive couple. Fucking christ. What have we fucking come to.

In the sequel to "Cocaine Bear" ...

I'm surprised this didn't happen in Florida.

In a world of golden retrievers, beagles, and loveable mutts, I will never understand the appeal of pitbulls.

“ Adam Withers taunted building management, the lawsuit alleged, citing social media posts, including one saying that “humans are the problem.””

So he’s a Datalounger

I hope this sentencing for pit bull attacks become the norm. Even the people stupid enough to own one, nothing shouts low IQ louder, will eventually get the message.

JFC. You should have heard the massive freak out when it became public the SPCA in my area was putting Pits down. They never get adopted and the ones being found on the street have often been trained to fight. Dangerous animals.

I love dogs, mainly of the stupid variety, but these aggressive breeds are a no from me.

Completely agree R65. That's the only thing that is going to get people's attention. I'm not usually in favor of the big lawsuits that the US is known for, but I hope the condo association and dog warden need to pay, too. Condominium and housing associations need to see allowing pit bulls as too much of a risk and having legal liability might be the only way to impress that.

The family of a young Brooklyn boy wants a pet owner to be held accountable after they said his dog attacked the child in a local park last month, leaving him with injuries that required multiple stitches.

On April 14, Angel Sanchez was playing with his father in Bushwick's Thomas Boyland Park following baseball practice, when a dog — which his family said was a pit bull — randomly attacked him, per News 12 Brooklyn. In surveillance footage shared by the outlet, Angel can be seen running on the field as a dog appears behind him, then seemingly biting the child on the back of the leg.

"I noticed because of my son's screams," his father, Henry Sanchez, told the outlet in Spanish, adding that it "happened so fast."

The dog was "just relentless in his attack," per Tony Nunez, who News 12 Brooklyn described as a close friend and witness.

A New York Police Department spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE on Saturday, May 3, that authorities received a call about "a vicious animal in a park" at 9 Aberdeen Street around 6:50 p.m. local time. When they arrived, police discovered that a dog jumped on a 7-year-old boy, who "sustained a bite mark to his lower back and scratches on his right leg."

"The male was transported by EMS to Maimonides Medical Center in stable condition," the statement continued.

Angel, who has dreams of playing for the New York Yankees some day, described the scene himself to ABC affiliate WABC.

"I didn't see it, he was going behind me," the child said. "I pushed him away, but he got me again, and then I screamed."

According to News 12 Brooklyn and WABC, the injuries required nine stitches. WABC reported that Angel's cuts were located on his lower back, thigh and legs, and he recalled "bleeding and crying."

During the attack, Angel's father sprinted from home plate to right field to help his son, telling WABC that he grabbed the dog before biting it in the neck so it would release Angel. The owner could also be seen punching the dog in the surveillance footage, per the outlet, with the same goal of getting the animal to release Angel.

"We had to run out to the outfield and beat on the dog so that the dog [could] leave the kid alone," witness Nunez recalled of the encounter.

As for the what happened to the dog's owner, Angel's father told News 12 Brooklyn in Spanish that the man "left and didn't come back."

Now, the dad says he wants both the owner and dog to be held accountable for the attack on Angel.

Police have since been unable to locate the dog and its owner, who initially attempted to help before leaving the scene, per WABC.

"In reality, I don't want another parent going through this," Henry told News 12 Brooklyn, adding to WABC that he just wants an apology.

Years ago I lived in a rundown hippie-style farmhouse on a rural plot of land. Part of the land was rented to a construction company that stored their trucks there, plus a trailer where they hung out. They also stored their illegal pit bulls and fighting cocks in sheds.

I was not responsible enough when my female border collie went into heat, and one morning she snuck out and got knocked up by one of the pit bulls. She gave birth to six, and I kept one of them.

The puppy was generally sweet and happy, but within six months she was dominating her mother. And then one day she lunged at something and I admonished her, and she turned on me and went for my face. Fortunately I had enough time to punch her in the face. Then it took a lot of effort to secure her by the collar. I gave her away to someone who had admired her - I really should have had her put down for that.

While I am not willing to condemn all pit bulls, it's a fact that aggression is a quality that is inherited, and thus a father bred for aggression will produce a puppy more likely to also be aggressive. And if you get a pit bull, you almost never known the temperament of the parents going back one or two generations.

R69 This is definitely true with cats, too. I used to breed pedigree cats and it was well known to people that bred/showed cats that you never used an aggressive cat as a stud. If you did a breeding that produced kittens that couldn't be handled, you took note not to repeat it. Unfortunately, when it comes to pit bulls, great effort has been made to produce aggressive fighters. It's not rocket science.