78-year-old woman killed after Lee County dog attack

BEULAH, Ala. (WRBL) – A Beulah woman died after being attacked by her neighbor’s dogs.

According to Lee County Coroner Daniel Sexton, 78-year-old Patricia Burt was pronounced dead at 10:21 a.m. CT Tuesday at Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown.

The deadly attack occurred around 5 p.m. CT Monday on Lee County Road 356. Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said Burt had walked over to visit her neighbor and say hello.

When Burt went to hug her neighbor, the neighbor’s two Cane Corsos escaped their enclosure and attacked Burt. As Burt’s husband and the dog’s owner tried to stop the attack, Burt’s husband pulled out a gun and shot both animals.

“At this point, it appears to be a horrific, tragic set of circumstances involving neighbors who are friendly,” Jones said.

Burt was transported to the hospital with critical injuries but did not survive. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Jones said his office had never received complaints about the dogs before the incident. Burt’s body will be sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for a postmortem examination.

The case remains under investigation and will be presented to a Lee County grand jury.