ASHVILLE, Pickaway County — A mother and son have learned their punishment after their dogs killed a 73-year-old Ohio woman last year, according to our media partner WBNS-10 TV.
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Susan and Adam Withers will each spend at least 14 years in prison for the death of Jo Echelbarger.
As previously reported by News Center 7, they were each found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of confining, restraining, and debarking dogs in February.
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Pickaway County Prosecutor Jayme Fountain said the pair got 11 to 16.5 years for involuntary manslaughter, 18 months for failure to keep vicious dogs under reasonable control and 18 months for confining and restraining dogs.
“Today’s sentencing of Adam and Susan Withers brings a measure of justice to the Echelbarger family. For months, they grieved the loss of Jo Ann while hoping the criminal justice system would hold the Withers accountable for their role in this horrific tragedy. That accountability came today, and the family is grateful,” law firm Cooper Elliot said on behalf of the Echelbarger family.
Echelbarger was attacked by two dogs while working in her flower beds in front of her home in Ashville on Oct. 17, 2024.
She suffered serious injuries from the attack and went into cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital, according to a previous News Center 7 report.
She was pronounced dead after arriving at the hospital.
An officer shot and killed one of the dogs after it became aggressive toward him.
The other dog ran away and later attacked and killed a dog near a school. It was also later killed.
Echelbarger’s family filed a lawsuit, stating that her death was preventable.
Just after the attack, WBNS-10 learned that the dogs had a history of violence but were never taken and several cases against their owners were previously dropped.
The lawsuit said the county dog warden, Preston Schumacher, and the condo association are partly at fault because they didn’t remove the dogs when they were previously violent.
WBNS-10 reported that Echelbarger’s children hope their mother’s death will help prevent someone else from being hurt.
“My mom lost her life. It needs to mean something. Something good has to come of that and what that is is change,” Earline Romine, Echelbarger’s daughter, said.
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