Dog Kills Month-old Infant Sleeping with Mom
www.sunherald.com
By ROBIN FITZGERALD and RYAN LA FONTAINE
December 14, 2004, SHORELINE PARK. MISSISSIPPI - A month-old girl was killed by a pit bull mix as she was sleeping next to her mother Sunday night. Kamryn Billingsley died of head trauma before emergency personnel arrived at the 21st Avenue home where the mother and baby had spent the night with a friend, said Hancock County officials. The infant was 34 days old.
Samantha Billingsley and her baby went to sleep Sunday night on a mattress and boxsprings in a spare bedroom, said Sheriff Steve Garber."The mother woke up around 1 a.m. and realized the infant was not in the bed," Garber said. "The dog dragged the baby into the living room and bit the infant numerous times."
"The mother turned on the light, followed a trail of blood through the hall to the living room and that's where she found her child," Garber said. The mother called 911.
The dog, whose name was "Baby," was put down after an autopsy was performed on the infant.
Authorities said the dog was at least 6 or 7 months old and may have been part boxer. The Sheriff's Department had never received any complaints involving the dog, Garber said.
The District Attorney's Office will review the file after the Sheriff's Department completes its investigation, said prosecutor Chris Schmidt.
No charges have been filed, but authorities are trying to find out more about the animal's history, Garber said.
Neighbors said the black-and-white dog was usually chained up on the porch of the home on stilts.
Deron Cuevas, sheriff's investigator, said that Garrard Marquar, who rents the home where the infant's death occurred, told him the dog was given to him a few months ago and had displayed no signs of aggression.
The bedroom door was either left open or the dog otherwise found her way inside the bedroom, authorities said.
Billingsley, a 20-year-old single mother, was holding the baby when deputies arrived. She handed her child to Deputy Todd Drummond and collapsed, the sheriff said. "She's in shock," said David Billingsley, Samantha's father. "We're all in shock and too upset to talk about it."
The mother is the niece of Stephen Peterman, a former LSU All-American lineman who plays for the Dallas Cowboys.
A private burial is planned for Wednesday.
The dog was taken to the Waveland Animal Shelter, where it was in "OK shape, but a little skittish," said Rene Lick, director.
About 50 percent of dog bites reported nationwide involve children, according to the Centerfor Disease Control. Dr. Ann Cook, a veterinarian at Biloxi Animal Hospital, said pit bulls are very strong dogs. "Pit bulls have jaws of steel, maybe even the strongest bite of any dog there is. That's how they are made," she said.
The tragedy is a reminder that dogs can't be trusted around babies or small children, Garber said. "Most dog owners will tell you their pet would never do anything like that," he said.
