Susan Withers and her son Adam Withers were convicted of several charges related to a fatal dog attack that resulted in the death of a 73-year-old woman named Jo Ann Echelbarger. The dogs involved in the attack, Apollo and Echo, were found to have cocaine in their systems. Apollo had previously been designated as dangerous after attacking another dog and its owner in the same condo complex. Weeks before the fatal attack, Adam Withers had been arrested for acting erratically and admitted to using cocaine.
The attack on Echelbarger occurred when the dogs got out of the condo and fatally mauled her while she was working in a garden. Police arrived on the scene to find Apollo charging at an officer, who shot the dog, and Echo standing over Echelbarger’s body covered in blood. Echelbarger died within minutes of the attack.
Following the deadly attack, necropsies on the dogs revealed trace amounts of cocaine in their systems, confirming exposure to the drug. Apollo had previously attacked another woman and her dog in the same complex, resulting in serious injuries.
The condo association where the Withers lived had filed a civil lawsuit to force the removal of the dogs due to their aggressive behavior. The previous attack on another woman and her dog set the grounds for more serious charges to be brought against the Withers in the Echelbarger case. Owners of dangerous dogs in Ohio are required to follow strict regulations to prevent incidents like this from happening.
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