Inquiry continues into girl's fatal mauling by dog
DUNCAN — Police continued Tuesday to investigate the death of a 3-year-old girl mauled by a pet dog in her home over the weekend, a police spokesman said.
Rylee Marie Dodge, 3, is identified as the girl killed by the family pet in a fundraising account description on Gofundme.com set up by a family organizer.
Rylee died of multiple sharp and blunt force injuries to her head and neck, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner's office. The girl's death was ruled an accident, Elliott said.
Rylee's aunt Sierra Moore, 26, of Duncan, said a funeral for Rylee will be 3 p.m. Friday at Whitts Funeral Home, 3720 US 81, in Duncan.
She said she did not want to talk about what happened, but said the family is struggling with grief.
"We're just trying to take it a day at a time," Moore said.
Police have not released the girl's name because she is a juvenile, said police Lt. John Byers.
Jason Dodge, of Duncan, the girl's father, posted on Facebook that his daughter died.
Police reported being called about 3 p.m. Sunday to a house in the 600 block of N F Street in Duncan. Police described the dog as a mixed breed. A police officer shot and killed the dog at the scene.
Byers said the girl was taken by ambulance to a hospital where she was pronounced dead of injuries from the attack.
Other attacks
The attack isn't the first deadly dog mauling in Oklahoma in the past few years. In 2015, Edgar Brown, 60, died after being mauled by five dogs in southwest Oklahoma City. The dogs' owner, Juan Marcos Diaz, 46, pleaded guilty last year to seconddegree manslaughter and was sentenced to one year in jail followed by three years probation. The maximum punishment for second-degree manslaughter is four years in prison.
In April, Cecille Short, 82, was mauled to death by two pit bull terriers as she walked her own dog near her northwest Oklahoma City home. Her dog also was killed. The pit bulls' owner, Antwon Demetris Burks, 32, is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the fatal attack. Burks’ case is pending.
In response to the April mauling, the Oklahoma City Council in July amended a city ordinance to redefine when a dog is to be considered dangerous and menacing.