Dogs maul owner to death in grisly incident — ‘I've never seen anything quite like it’

A 22-year-old Virginia woman appears to have been mauled to death by her dogs while out for a walk.

Bethany Stephens’ father called 911 Thursday night, and police came upon a grisly scene, according to local media reports. The dogs seemed to be guarding her body in a wooded area. Stephens suffered fatal wounds to her face, throat and hands. The bloody scene was littered with her shredded clothing; police bagged 60 items of evidence.

“It appeared the attack was a violent attack initiated by the victims’ dogs while the victim was out for a walk with the dogs,” James Agnew, the local sheriff in Goochland County, told Fox2. “The victim had defensive wounds on her hands and arms trying to keep the dogs away from her, which would be consistent with being attacked while she was still alive.”

Agnew described the dogs as large and powerful pit bulls that may have been bred for dog fighting.

The dogs were captured, and authorities will pursue euthanization.

“It was an absolutely grisly mauling,” Agnew said. “In my 40 years of law enforcement I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I hope I never see anything like it again.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2017 at 12:59 PM with the headline "Dogs maul owner to death in grisly incident — ‘I've never seen anything quite like it’."