A Cochise County grand jury has indicted two women on felony charges in connection with a dog attack that killed an 84-year-old Sierra Vista woman on June 23.
Shimira Marie “Myra” Sanches and Ashlee Richardson Sanches are each charged with manslaughter in the death of Helen Jackson, who was out on an evening stroll when a pit bull jumped a cinderblock wall at the Sanches residence in Sierra Vista.
The dog proceeded to maul Jackson and her small dog in an alley often used by neighbors. Sam Sanches Jr., age 53, was critically injured while reportedly trying to stop the attack.
Two pit bulls which lived at the Sanches residence had to be killed by Sierra Vista police officers in order for emergency medical responders to reach the victims. At least one of the dogs was involved in a previous act of aggression earlier this year, which led city animal control officers to place it under quarantine.
The dog was later released back to its owners, according to public records.
The Aug. 10 indictment also charges the women with negligent homicide, assault by vicious animal, and two counts of an aggressive dog violation. A summons requires them to appear at Cochise County Superior Court at 3p.m. Sept. 5 for arraignment.
During arraignment, a judge will decide what pretrial supervision conditions to impose. This could include ordering the women be taken into custody and setting a bond to secure pretrial release.
In the meantime, the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner recently released Jackson’s autopsy report. It describes the severity of the injuries inflicted by the dog, including a transected right brachial artery and vein.
Other injuries noted by the medical examiner included a fractured left fibula, fractured right fibula, and fractured right tibia. Jackson, who also suffered multiple lacerations to her head and extremities which coincided with teeth marks, died at a local hospital a short time after the attack.
Her dog, Lilly, died at the scene.
Sanches Jr. was airlifted from the scene to a trauma hospital in Tucson. No update has been provided on his condition.
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