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Grandmother mauled
to death by family's pit bulls
December 10, 2002, 6:08 PM EST
GARFIELD, N.J. -- An 80-year-old woman was mauled to death by two pit
bull dogs that she had known since they were puppies, Bergen County
authorities said Tuesday.
Wounds caused by claws or teeth covered more than 80 percent of Julia
Mazziotto's body, and the medical examiner found she had also suffered
a broken right wrist, county Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said.
Blood soaked her clothing and was spattered on the walls and floor of
her apartment, he said.
"There was no warning, no signal, no nothing whatsoever," said David
Fox, the family's lawyer. "The family is distraught. These animals were
their pets without any incidents in the past."
He and authorities said they do not know what caused the dogs to attack
the woman.
Mazziotto was found about 9:30 p.m. Monday by her granddaughter and
the granddaughter's boyfriend, who shared the apartment with the older
woman.
They owned the dogs, which will be euthanized within three days, Molinelli
said.
No charges were filed in the case, he said.
"There does not appear to be any criminality here," the prosecutor said.
Mazziotto had been alone since 11:30 a.m. with the animals, which the
family used as watch dogs, witnesses told authorities.
The dogs are being held in kennels behind the Bergen County Jail. They
were identified as Shay, 7, and Onyx, 1{. Both animals attacked the
woman, Molinelli said.
A phone at the Mazziotto residence rang unanswered Tuesday afternoon.
Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press
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