A pit bull owner whose dogs fatally mauled a woman taking her morning stroll was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in prison for second-degree murder.
The case against Alex Donald Jackson was one of the few where a dog owner has been charged with murder for failing to control pets they knew were dangerous. He will be eligible for parole after serving 15 years.
Pamela Devitt, a 63-year-old retiree, was on the home stretch of her daily walk in the high desert town of Littlerock in May 2013 when four of Jackson’s dogs leaped a fence and attacked her in the street.
She was alone, didn’t have a phone and no one was nearby. By the time help arrived, she had been bitten 150 to 200 times from head to toe and an arm was severed. She died from blood loss.
“Her story shouldn’t have ended in such a horrific way,” her husband, Ben Devitt, said as he overcame emotion to deliver a statement in Los Angeles County Superior Court.