Overview

• JoAnn Echelbarger, 73, was fatally attacked by her neighbors' pit bulls while gardening at her condominium complex in Ohio last October.
• Pathology reports revealed the dogs, named Echo and Apollo, had cocaine in their systems at the time of the attack.
• The dogs' owners, Adam Withers and Susan Withers, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter in February 2025 after ignoring prior orders to remove the dogs from the property.
• The victim's family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging negligence by the dogs' owners, the condominium association, and the county dog warden for failing to act on warnings about the dogs' behavior.
• The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages exceeding $25,000 and punitive damages, with the family criticizing the government's handling of the situation as reckless.