Grandmother Mauled to Death by Pit Bulls That Were High on Cocaine

[Turd Fergusen]

An Ohio grandmother was mauled to death by her neighbor’s pit bulls — which were later found to have been high on cocaine, according to a lawsuit.

JoAnn Echelbarger, 73, was “peacefully gardening” in October when she was ripped apart by the pit bulls, Echo and Apollo, freely roaming her Ashton condominium’s common areas, according to court documents.

Her husband, Stanley — who suffers from dementia and was in a wheelchair — watched helplessly as his wife was mauled for several minutes while “screaming for her life,” according to the complaint, which said one dog continued the attack even after cops opened fire to try to stop them.

“She did not deserve this. She was tortured, and she suffered,” Echelbarger’s daughter Earlene Romine told ABC 6. “This is not what you expect your parent to go through. This is not what you expect to happen to anyone you love.”

The dogs both later tested positive for cocaine, according to the court filing.

Their owners, Adam Withers and his mother, Susan, were both convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Echelbarger’s death last month, court records show.

Full Article

Grandmother mauled to death by pit bulls that were high on cocaine: lawsuit

“She did not deserve this. She was tortured,” said Echelbarger’s daughter Earlene Romine.

nypost.com

 

[Aedia]

Dear God, her poor husband! How horrific, she went from being enamored in her nice little hobby (if she's anything like the gardeners I know, she was probably happily in her element, her own little bubble) to being torn completely to shreds. Those minutes must have felt like torturous hours.

Did the animals have any issues before? With the cocaine in their system, that alone could have triggered them into an aggressive frenzy...I can only imagine if they were already aggressive. If not, it would kind of make it even more tragic. Can you really blame a drugged up animal that had never had any problems before? The owners deserve murder charges.

 

[BuffettGirl]

Not Zeus! and Apolo! ??? <--- bad Magnum PI joke...

I don't ever want to see a pittie hopped up on coke! Terrifying to even consider, and I like pitties. I can't imagine it tastes any better than it did the one time I did it, back in October of 1987, so why would they have eaten it? Anybody know?

 

[Aedia]

Not Zeus! and Apolo! ??? <--- bad Magnum PI joke...

I don't ever want to see a pittie hopped up on coke! Terrifying to even consider, and I like pitties. I can't imagine it tastes any better than it did the one time I did it, back in October of 1987, so why would they have eaten it? Anybody know?

Yeah, I'm wondering if they smoked it (crack cocaine) around the dogs. Or if they laced something with coke and smoked it around them.
I cannot imagine a dog wanting to eat cocaine. It numbs the mouth almost immediately and does not taste very good - well, it can when psychologically you know there's a high coming, but I don't think a dog would experience that! Lol

EDIT - It just dawned on me that maybe they hid it inside of something else that was more appealing? I knew people who would hide their drugs in all sorts of places. Including peanut butter jars, pet food, cereal boxes etc. Just a thought...maybe they could have left out what they hid it in?? Possibly? Maybe?

 

[BuffettGirl]

Yeah, I'm wondering if they smoked it (crack cocaine) around the dogs. Or if they laced something with coke and smoked it around them.
I cannot imagine a dog wanting to eat cocaine. It numbs the mouth almost immediately and does not taste very good - well, it can when psychologically you know there's a high coming, but I don't think a dog would experience that! Lol

EDIT - It just dawned on me that maybe they hid it inside of something else that was more appealing? I knew people who would hide their drugs in all sorts of places. Including peanut butter jars, pet food, cereal boxes etc. Just a thought...maybe they could have left out what they hid it in?? Possibly? Maybe?

I can see that. Good thinking!

 

[Aedia]

I can see that. Good thinking!

Okay, I was going to message you, but I can't....
But is there a story behind you remembering exactly the first, and only, time you did coke? Because usually when someone remembers something that exact, that happened before I was even born, there is a damn good story behind it. And I am a nosey bitch.
Of course you can tell me to f-off, but I just about fell over giggling at your exact date and got curious. My imagination gets the best of me sometimes, so forgive me if I overstep.

Now I am hoping it isn't a bad reason...

 

[BuffettGirl]

Okay, I was going to message you, but I can't....
But is there a story behind you remembering exactly the first, and only, time you did coke? Because usually when someone remembers something that exact, that happened before I was even born, there is a damn good story behind it. And I am a nosey bitch.
Of course you can tell me to f-off, but I just about fell over giggling at your exact date and got curious. My imagination gets the best of me sometimes, so forgive me if I overstep.

Now I am hoping it isn't a bad reason...

It was during my first college visit. Over Halloween weekend. My senior year of high school. Easy enough to remember.

That and I have one of those brains that remembers WAY TOO FREAKING MUCH. It's Autobiographical. I don't remember shit about other people, unless it involves me. They call it hyperthymesia, or H-SAM - Highly Superior Autobiogaphical Memory. Every scent, sight, smell, sound, texture brings on a flood of memorie. Every single one. It's like being assaulted on a 24/7, continuous basis by my own brain. It's loads of fun. And there's the aspect of feeling like a circus freak added in for funsies. For example, in Spetember of 2023, I went to see bestie in Florida. We went on Jimmy Buffett's cruise ship to the Bahamas. Because I LOVE his music and books, bestied paraded me around the entire time going "ask her anything, she'll tell you, she knows everything about him!". Thankfully it was only a 2 day cruise!

 

[Craygor]

Looks like the family is filing a shit-ton of lawsuits

The dogs, owned by Mark and Sarah Withers, had a documented history of aggression. Since 2015, neighbors had filed multiple complaints about the animals running loose and acting aggressively in the Reserve at Ashton Village. In March 2023, one of the dogs bit a person, and in October 2023, the other killed another dog. Despite growing concerns and a legal injunction filed by the homeowners association (HOA) in April 2024, a Pickaway County judge’s ruling to remove the dogs was not enforced before the fatal attack occurred.

Now, Jo Ann’s family, represented by attorneys from Cooper Elliott, is filing a civil lawsuit against multiple defendants, including the condominium association, the property management company, and Pickaway County officials. The lawsuit seeks accountability for the systemic failures that led to Jo Ann’s death and aims to implement changes to prevent similar tragedies in the future. https://www.sciotopost.com/family-o...lawsuit-following-ashville-deadly-dog-attack/

Normally, I don't support lawsuits against shit like this, because its often just a money-grab, but I have to agree everyone failed to do their jobs that led to this women's death.

 

[Metalfan]

Statistics on that breed are very accurate.When I did pool maintenance I simply did not service any customers with pitts. Sure there are some absolute sweethearts,but the track records do not lie.

 

[Turd Fergusen]

I don't disagree, but it's more on the owner than the breed 95% of the time. With ANY breed you have to know what you're working with and how to raise/train them. Little dogs are 1000 times more vicious; they just can't do much damage at < 10lbs. A much better-behaved breed that's 50-100lbs of pure muscle is going to cause much more actual harm.

 

[Blunderbuss Firozabad]

Looks like the family is filing a shit-ton of lawsuits


Normally, I don't support lawsuits against shit like this, because its often just a money-grab, but I have to agree everyone failed to do their jobs that led to this women's death.

A dog has to kill TWICE in Ohio before anything is done.


I posted this video last week...

Thread 'Watch the 20-minute documentary ‘Vicious: How dog attacks maim and kill Ohioans’. Right here. For free. It's upsetting.'

Mar 9, 2025

"Michael Palmer is a broken man.

He lives in fear, crashes on friends’ couches and feels uncomfortable when strangers stare at him.

This is all new to Palmer, now 51.

In December 2022, Palmer was viciously attacked by a friend's pit bull at her Green home. Piper, the dog, bit off his ears, thumbs, an index finger and part of his nose.

Palmer can no longer work as a machinist, play guitar or pick up small items."


"Palmer was attacked by his neighbor Wendy Trippett’s pit bull when he went to her house in the early morning hours of Dec. 20, 2022. He said...

• Blunderbuss Firozabad
• avery russell documentary: vicious jo echelbarger michael palmer ohio dog attacks vicious vicious: how dog attacks maim and kill ohioans
• Replies: 2
• Forum: Crime Screen Theater

• 

 

[thuumpr]

Thank goodness only a pit bull!

 

[Alxprkrkrls]

Yeah, I'm wondering if they smoked it (crack cocaine) around the dogs. Or if they laced something with coke and smoked it around them.
I cannot imagine a dog wanting to eat cocaine. It numbs the mouth almost immediately and does not taste very good - well, it can when psychologically you know there's a high coming, but I don't think a dog would experience that! Lol

EDIT - It just dawned on me that maybe they hid it inside of something else that was more appealing? I knew people who would hide their drugs in all sorts of places. Including peanut butter jars, pet food, cereal boxes etc. Just a thought...maybe they could have left out what they hid it in?? Possibly? Maybe?

My last dog (Rocky a pit bull) would eat anything. If there were crumbs he would Hoover them straight up, doesn’t matter what they were, so if there was cocaine residue on a table or a baggie on the floor my dog would’ve inhaled it without tasting it. Rocky had 3 square meals a day and a billion treatos in between those meals, so if you had a dog that was living with druggies it might’ve been even more food driven because the owners may have been sporadically feeding it.

My heart breaks for Stanley…

 

[Aedia]

so if you had a dog that was living with druggies it might’ve been even more food driven because the owners may have been sporadically feeding it.

That aspect hadn't even occurred to me. Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Honestly, I'm surprised they didn't attack Stanley as well. I cannot fathom the horror - even if he was "out of it" or didn't fully understand due to his diminished mental capacity. Which (in just this scenario, not any other aspect of his life) might actually have been a blessing if that were the case. Not being able to help your wife would bring a tremendous amount of survivors guilt.

 

[Busy Bee]

The owners were negligent , they allowed the dogs to run loose and unattended and somehow the dogs tested positive for drugs But those folks probably don’t have money! Usually I disagree with people suing, but this, everyone who should have taken action to prevent these dogs from doing any more damage totally failed in their duty.!! The dogs were cited numerous times, killed another dog and then went on to kill a woman! The owners should go to prison for a long time!