A 50-year-old woman from Florida was fatally mauled by two pit bulls as her partner looked on helplessly and fought to rescue her.
Jodi Cowan suffered the deadly attack on Tuesday evening whilst out walking her small dog in a residential area close to Cocoa, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office's Animal Services unit.
Her long-term partner, Donnell Smith, witnessed the horrific incident unfold and rushed to intervene.
Mr Smith recounted to local broadcaster WESH that he returned to their property at approximately 1am and noticed that Ms Cowan had gone out with their pet dog.
He described hearing a faint cry for help before spotting the silhouettes of two dogs pulling Ms Cowan along the street.
Racing to assist her, Mr Smith discovered his partner lying in a pool of blood, her body covered in bite wounds.
The animals returned and attempted to drag her away once more.
Mr Smith told WESH."I pulled my knife out, you know, just swinging with it one hand and holding the blood with the other, trying to stop her from bleeding."
Emergency services were summoned and Ms Cowan was airlifted to hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
Mr Smith said: "It was brutal. Seeing the same woman I've loved for the last 25-30 years just ripped apart by two animals was just... I'll never get that image out of my mind."
Local residents had raised concerns about the two pit bulls prior to the fatal attack.
Neighbour Bruce Midkiff informed The Daily Mail that his security cameras captured the horrific incident, with the footage now handed to investigating officers.
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According to Midkiff, people living in the area were well aware of the dogs and had grown increasingly worried about them.
He said that both he and other neighbours had lodged multiple complaints with the sheriff's office regarding the animals.
An unrelated incident saw one of the pit bulls attack another resident, and on April 30, the dogs trapped his wife inside her vehicle.
Another neighbour, Scott Chase, told Florida Today he had contacted authorities on two separate occasions to report the dogs.
He said: "I've been afraid to get out of my house a few times. They just keep getting loose."
Cowan's father Martin paid tribute to his daughter, describing her as someone with a "big heart" who "could get along with anybody" and loved animals.
He said: "I'm not going to throw stones but it's tragic. I have lost my daughter. She was my little girl."
Both pit bulls have been taken into custody by animal control.
No charges have yet been brought against the owner, though the investigation continues.
Florida introduced tougher criminal penalties for owners of aggressive dogs following the death of eight-year-old Michael Millett in 2024.
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