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| -Lurid Crime Tales- | |
| Boy, 1, is killed after babysitter's pit bulls mauled him and used him for 'tug of war' | |
| 2024-10-09 | |
Jiryiah Johnson was in the care of 36-year-old Heather Rodriguez at her home in Converse, Texas, before she left the baby alone with her teenage daughter. After the vicious attack, which lasted several minutes across different rooms in the home, Johnson was hospitalized in critical condition with bite wounds to his face, head and neck. He suffered severe throat injuries and he was unable to breathe on his own, before he tragically passed away on Monday night. Babysitter Rodriguez was arrested on a first-felony charge of injury to a child with serious bodily injury by omission - and she may face further charges for the injuries to her daughter, police said. It's understood that Rodriguez had left to go to work - and put her daughter in charge of the baby in her absence. Baby Jiryiah and the teenage girl were secured inside a bedroom with the doors shut, away from Rodriguez's three pit bulls, said Sheriff Javier Salazar of Bexar County Sheriff's Office in a news briefing. The door to the bedroom had previously been damaged by the dogs and was broken down again before they began a gruesome attack on the baby. According to Salazar, the teen tried to keep control of the baby but described the fight for the child like a 'tug of war' that lasted several minutes. She then locked herself and the baby into a bathroom, where the dogs forced their way in again - further attacking the baby as well as the 13-year-old. The girl then left the baby with the dogs in order to grab her phone and call for help, before taking the child into another room and barricading the door with her body. Johnson's mother, Erika Castro, said she had not had time to process what had happened to her only child. Sheriff Salazar described the baby's condition as 'heartbreaking' and said the teen was a 'hero' for her efforts against the dogs, which he described as 'XL pits'. He said that the baby had been left in Rodriguez's care in the home before and the parents knew that Rodriguez had dogs but didn't know they were problematic. 'In a house full of vicious dogs, what did this lady, the suspect, think was going to happen,' he added. Castro added: 'I thank that girl because... she did her best.' Rodriguez had received a citation for having unleashed dogs earlier this year when they wouldn't let a man out of his car, and Salazar said they had responded to calls about the dogs in the past. Kalb reported that it was unknown where Rodriguez went or how long she was away from the home, and added she was not being cooperative with their investigation. Salazar added that Rodriguez seemed more concerned about the dogs than the baby, she refused to give a statement to Bexar County Sheriff's Office. The dogs were turned over to Animal Care Services and Child Protective Services is also investigating. Rodriguez is in Bexar County Jail with bonds totaling $100,000. | |
| Posted by:Skidmark |