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TAYLORSVILLE — A Taylorsville man is facing criminal charges after police say his pit bulls attacked his mother, causing critical injuries that eventually led to her death.
Jeremy Miller, 38, was charged last week in Taylorsville Justice Court with seven counts of attack by an animal, a class B misdemeanor.
On Oct. 31, Sandra Miller, 63, called 911 after she "had been attacked and bitten by several dogs who are owned by her son," police said last fall.
Officers arrived at the woman's home, 4819 S. Shakestone Drive, and an officer prepared to climb the fence surrounding the backyard to get to Miller.
"As he climbed the fence to enter the backyard, he noticed five smaller-sized pit bulls and one adult male pit bull and one adult female pit bull running freely through the backyard. All of the dogs had blood on and around their mouths and appeared to be in a frenzy," according to charging documents.
The officer used pepper spray on several dogs in order to get over the fence. When he reached Miller, he found that she had "extensive" injuries, the charges state.
"He also observed that her leg had no flesh on it and only the bone remained," according to the charges. "The dogs were still extremely aggressive, and it took multiple Taylorsville city police officers and animal control officers to keep the dogs away from the victim and contained in the yard. When the female pit bull attempted to escape, (an officer) shot her … six times and noticed other officers shot her as well."
Police said the adult male dog was 1 year old, the female was 3 years old, and the puppies were 3 months old.
After the woman was taken to a local hospital, her son surrendered his dogs to the city. They were later euthanized.
Police initially reported that one of Sandra Miller's legs had to be amputated. A week after the attack, it was announced that she had died due to her injuries.
