Yet another baby killed by pit bull/Akita as this article was posted
VIDOR, Texas; GREENVILLE, Ohio; MARKLE, Indiana; TULLAHOMA, Tennessee––Orange County, Texas sheriff Bobby Smith on September 19, 2026 confirmed to Scott Lawrence of KFDM television news in Beaumont that a pit bull/Akita cross killed a month-old baby girl at about 2:50 a.m. that morning at a mobile home court in Pine Forest, just north of the town of Vidor.
The baby girl was the 58th known U.S. dog attack fatality of 2026, and the 43rd known pit bull attack fatality.
Forty-three would have been a record number of fatal dog attacks in a year by all dogs combined as recently as 2020, and are more fatal dog attacks than occurred in any whole decade before 2000.
Would prosecutions have deterred risk-taking pit bull owners?
Nine people, meanwhile, faced legal justice in the four-day span from September 11 to September 14, 2026, in connection with three fatal pit bull attacks, two occurring a year earlier and one actually occurring on September 14.
Would victims killed on September 14 and September 19, 2026 still be alive if the dog owners had been aware of the charges filed in the two earlier cases, both––like the September 19 case––involving infants?
That will never be known.
(Tobias Funeral Home photo)
Victim “cared greatly for the welfare of animals”
What is known is that Mildred Malott, 83, who according to her Beavercreek Chapel obituary “enjoyed being outdoors, loved nature, and cared greatly for the welfare of animals,” at a little after 11:00 a.m. on September 14, 2026 “walked from her residence to her neighbor’s house to inquire about chickens she found near her house the morning of the incident,” reported the Darke County, Ohio Sheriff’s Office.
“Evidence suggests that when Mrs. Malott walked to the rear of the house to knock on the door, she was immediately attacked by three dogs,” believed by neighbors and acquaintances to have been pit bulls, “and killed,” the Darke County Sheriff’s Office said.
Mildred Malott is survived by her husband of 63 years, Gary Martin Malott, a son and daughter, and “numerous other relatives and friends,” the Beavercreek Chapel obituary said.
(Facebook photo)
Three-dog attack
A 911 call “reported finding an unresponsive older female, covered in blood in their driveway. The victim was reportedly not breathing,” the Darke County Sheriff’s Office media release continued.
“The residents and owners of the dogs have been identified as Scott and Pennie Royer,” the media release detailed. “Mrs. Royer was awakened by noise or barking and went outside to discover Mrs. Malott down on the ground near the deck and entrance to the house. Mrs. Royer alerted her husband, Mr. Royer, who came outside and they called 911. The involved dogs were secured in the house prior to first responders arrival.
“The Royers own five dogs and three of the dogs had been let outside by Mr. Royer shortly before the attack. There were no documented prior complaints or known issues with the dogs,” the Darke County Sheriff’s Office added.
“Mixed breed dogs”
“All five dogs were properly licensed. All five dogs were removed from the residence and turned over to the Darke County dog warden, who impounded the three dogs identified “as being responsible for the attack,” while two dogs “who were not outside at the time of the incident have been released back to the Royers.
“The three dogs are described as mixed breed dogs,” the Darke County Sheriff’s office said.
“Mixed breed dog” once typically meant “harmless mutt,” but in recent years has become a common euphemism for “pit bull,” especially since the Best Friends Animal Society, in particular, began discouraging the use of the term “pit bull” in connection with attacks, in hopes of encouraging pit bull adoptions from shelters.
“Ohio dog owners are responsible for the unprovoked behavior of their dogs, even on their own property”
“Documents will be filed with Darke County Municipal Court,” the sheriff’s office media release said. “to have the three involved dogs designated as ‘vicious dogs’ in accordance with Ohio’s new dog laws.
“The Royers have also been cited for a violation of the new Ohio law with regard to Vicious Dog acts O.R.C. 955.22, which is a misdemeanor of the third degree, based on the facts and evidence in this case.
“It is important to understand, that under these new laws, Ohio dog owners are responsible for the unprovoked behavior of their dogs, even on their own property. Examples, like delivery drivers, visitors, or neighbors coming to knock on your door need to be considered.”
Avery’s Law
Avery’s Law, endorsed into effect by Ohio governor Mike DeWine on December 19, 2025, imposes criminal penalties on a dog owner if he or she negligently fails to keep a dog from attacking a person without provocation; allows dog wardens to immediately impound dogs following an unprovoked attack; and mandates that dogs who kill or seriously injure a person must be euthanized, “after receiving due process.”
Avery’s Law also includes exemptions for dogs who “are defending themselves, their owners, or their property.”
Avery’s Law is named after Avery Russell, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, who at age 11 was severely mauled by two pit bulls in June 2024.
One of the pit bulls had previously injured two other children, but Franklin County municipal court judge Mary Kay Fenlon sentenced owner Stephanie Ayers to serve only four days in jail and pay a fine of just $450, plus court costs.
(See Add Aryson Lee Page & Barbara Brewington to 2025 record pit bull death toll.)
First conviction in “Chomp” case
Greenville, Ohio, where Mildred Malott was killed, is about 78 miles southeast of Markle, Indiana, where on September 4, 2025 seven-day-old Jason A. Weaver “died from multiple blunt force injuries after being attacked,” by a pit bull named Chomp, Corryn Brock summarized for WPTA in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on September 14, 2026, about six hours after Malott died.
“Six people, including parents, grandparents and an uncle, were charged” in connection with Jason A. Weaver’s death, Brock recounted.
“The baby’s father, Austin Kinsey, was initially charged with two counts of neglect and one count of harboring a non-immunized dog that injured someone. A plea deal dismissed the highest-level neglect charge in exchange for a 16-year prison sentence tied to a new, lesser charge.
Father was playing video games
“Violet Weaver, the child’s mother,” Brock updated, “is currently scheduled for a change of plea hearing later this month. The cases remain active for grandparents Timothy Kinsey, Rita Wickey and Michael Wickey, as well as for the baby’s uncle, Tony Kinsey.”
(See Pit bull toll rises; $17 million settlement shows cost of city non-response.)
Reported Brock earlier, “During interviews with family members, police learned Jason’s father, Austin Kinsey, was playing video games when he briefly left the room to talk to his mother and his son’s mother, court records say.”
Timothy Kinsey discovered the attack.
“Saw Chomp dragging the infant”
Wrote Brock, “He later explained that he was in the kitchen when he heard Jason making noises and saw Chomp,” who had bite history, “dragging the infant.
“Court documents also detail the house being filled with bugs, including some in Jason’s car seat, as well as trash, dirty dishes, and dirty clothes,” Brock recounted.
The Huntington County Health Department found the property unfit for habitation.
An autopsy, Brock said, “showed more than 180 abrasions and several bruises on the boy’s head, neck, torso, back and limbs, as well as uncovering major internal injuries like brain hemorrhages, rib fractures, and tears in his lungs.”
(Facebook photo)
Charges finally in Tullahoma case
Austin Kinsey accepted his plea-bargained 16-year prison sentence four days after Zaccahae Smith, 28, Sylvia Ann Smith, 70, and Tilesia Nicoue Baugh, age unknown, were charged in Tullahoma, Tennessee with the pit bull attack deaths of three-month-old Khelani Taylor and her grandfather James Alexander Smith, 50, in their shared home on December 3, 2025.
Zaccahae Smith, charged with second degree murder, was Khelani Taylor’s mother. Sylvia Ann Smith, charged with three counts of child abuse and neglect, was Khelani Taylor’s great-grandmother.
“Baugh was charged with two counts of child abuse and neglect, as well as one count of aggravated child abuse and neglect,” reported Erin McCullough for WKRN television news in Nashville, Tennessee.
(Facebook photo)
“While ordinance was written, two more attacks occurred”
Khelani Taylor was torn apart by at least two family pit bulls in a dilapidated house, since condemned and demolished, where seven dogs, mostly pit bulls, were reportedly found.
James Alexander Smith, found dead with a baseball bat in his hands, apparently suffered a fatal heart attack while attempting to rescue Khelani Taylor from the pit bulls who killed her.
Neighbor Brian Kirby told Elisheva Wimberly and Alicia Patton of WKRN television news that the pit bulls had killed his eight-year-old cat only one week earlier.
Responding to previous local pit bull attacks, the Tullahoma board of mayor and aldermen had on September 23, 2024 updated the city animal control ordinance to allow the city animal control department “to label a dog vicious, impound it, and hold it at the owner’s expense until its enclosure meets city standards,” Tullahoma News staff writer Brady Flanigan recounted.
(Beth Clifton collage)
However, Flanigan added, “while the ordinance was being written, two more attacks occurred.”
(See “Dogman” & cocker Floyd Boudreaux, 91, outlived 3-month-old pit bull victim.)
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