CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — A mother and her son each were sentenced Wednesday to a minimum of 14 years in prison after their dogs mauled an elderly woman as she was gardening, killing her.
Susan Withers, 62, and her son, Adam Withers, 35, both of Circleville, were sentenced by Pickaway County Common Pleas Court Judge Matthew Chafin to 14 to 19½ years in prison, the Columbus Dispatch reports. Both were convicted in February of multiple felony counts of involuntary manslaughter.
According to court records, police say Jo Ann Echelbarger, 73, was gardening outside her condominium on Oct. 17, 2024, when two dogs, reportedly breeds of pit bull, broke loose from a nearby home and attacked her. The Dispatch reports Echelbarger’s husband, who has dementia and Parkinson’s disease, witnessed the mauling from a screened-in porch…