ABBEVILLE, South Carolina—Two pitbulls belonging to the same man whose animals mauled Kyleen Waltman in rural South Carolina last month had previously been reported in connection with another alleged attack, authorities said in court on Thursday.
The revelation came at a hearing in Abbeville County Magistrate’s Court, where prosecutors convinced a judge that they had probable cause to charge Justin Minor with multiple violations of animal-control laws, ranging from ownership of dangerous animals to letting the animals roam freely on the premises.
“It was just one of the most gruesome animal attacks that I’ve ever seen in my career,” Lieutenant Jeffrey Hines of the Abbeville County Sheriff’s Office testified of the March 21 attack on Waltman at the preliminary hearing.
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After the attack, doctors had to amputate both of Waltman’s legs and her colon, and weeping by her mother punctuated the silence long before the judge stepped foot into the courtroom Thursday. It was the first time the 38-year-old’s family faced the owner of the dogs who attacked Waltman in Honea Path last month.
A passerby witnessed the attack and found Waltman in a ditch across the street from Minor’s house, indicating they had left the property, Hines said. According to the cop, the local, a man named Avery Presley, fired his gun in the air to get the dogs off of her. He proceeded to call 911 and get help for Waltman, who remains in dire straits in the hospital.
Rather than an isolated incident, Hines told the judge Thursday, dogs tied to Minor had been involved in at least one other report to animal control, if not police. An attorney for Minor did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday, after failing to convince the judge that there was no probable cause to charge his client.
Roy Ashley was in a VA hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, in December when he revealed a dog bite he said stemmed from an incident at Minor’s home, according to Hines.
Local animal control was notified of the incident, but no dogs were turned over, Hines said. At that time, he suggested, local law enforcement beyond animal control was not notified. Animal control conducted an investigation in which they spoke to two people in the yard of the home; the two people who spoke stated they didn’t own large dogs, only small dogs, according to their report.
They attempted to make more contact but were unable to reach anyone else at the home, Hines continued, citing the animal control report. Hines said he was not certain that the animals involved in the December incident were the same ones that were euthanized after the attack on Waltman last month.
In addition to recapping the previous incident, Hines opined on the horrific nature of Waltman’s injuries.
Hines told the court that when she was rescued by authorities, at least one of Waltman’s tricep muscles was removed and all that was left of her left arm was bone. The dogs had ripped pieces of flesh off the mother, who was airlifted to a hospital. So far, she has: received a thoracostomy to remove fluid from her lungs; had amputations of her arms; had shoulder bones removed such that she may not be able to receive regular prosthetics; had her colon removed; and been through skin graft operations.
After the incident, the lieutenant continued, Minor gave the dogs to animal control, indicating that they had previously killed some of his chickens. Once the chickens were killed, Minor suggested to his wife that they should put the dogs down, but she said no, Hines continued, citing a recorded conversation with the defendant.
One of Minor’s neighbors told investigators that he was afraid to go outside when the dogs were out, Hines said. During the hearing, the investigator added that the neighbor said they carried a stick to fend the dogs off.
Authorities also alluded to video they said captured Minor telling a sergeant, “Those dogs will bite anyone.” According to Hines, Minor revealed that the dogs were not vaccinated against rabies—nor had they received any kind of vaccination.
And when police arrived on the scene of Waltman’s attack around 10:30 a.m. on March 21, Hines said, officers noticed that it was effectively an open property. A prosecutor suggested there was little to no fencing, though there were some kennels on the scene.
Meanwhile, Waltman’s existence is a tortured one. After waking up from her amputation surgery, she was so distraught that doctors had to place her back under. She was also previously asking her mom to hold her hand, apparently not realizing her arms had been amputated.
Waltman seems to have since come to terms with the extent of her injuries. Her latest surgery came on Tuesday, when doctors operated on her leg and placed a skin graft on her right shoulder.
Family previously said there was the risk of having her leg amputated, too, if the infection continued to grow.
