Ga. grandmother charged after her two dogs maul her toddler grandson to death

Sandra Adams, 70, of Hartwell, Georgia, was arrested and charged with murder after her two pit bulls attacked and killed her 20-month-old grandson at her home on August 2.  The tragedy occurred around 3:15 p.m. while Adams was babysitting the toddler.  Adams and her grandson were both in Adams’ back yard just prior to the attack.  When Adams went to go back inside the house, her two pit bulls ran out the back door of the residence into her back yard, knocked the grandmother from her feet and then proceeded to maul the little boy.

Adams managed to get the dogs back into the house and then tended to her grandson.  AJC reported that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) reported that Adams and the child’s mother, Amy Adams, took the child to an urgent care facility.  Tragically, the baby boy died shortly after the attack at 3:36 p.m.

In addition to an involuntary manslaughter charge, the grandmother was also charged with second-degree cruelty to children.  Adams had been cited several times in the past “under a city ordinance maintaining disorderly animals,” according to AJC.

WYFF NEWS 4 reported that Adams told GBI investigators that she attempted to shield her grandson from the attacking dogs and tried to pull the animals off the child.  After getting the dogs back in the house, she picked her grandson up and drove to retrieve the boy’s mother so that they could all go to the urgent care facility together. In total, the grandmother has been charged with second-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to children and felony involuntary manslaughter.

The two pit bulls are being kept apart in separate animal shelters in Hartwell and Lavonia and will be observed for the next 24 – 48 hours before they’re euthanized.  Fox Carolina reported Hartwell police Chief Anthony Davis as saying that the multiple citations Adams received over the years regarding disorderly animals involved the two same pit bulls that mauled her grandson to death.  Davis also said the Hartwell community, located about 110 miles northeast of Atlanta, is taking the child’s death very hard.

Written by:  Ace News Today Staff