Post-mortem reveals clues on whether woman was killed by her own dogs or murdered
WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: US investigators have released more grisly details about a young woman found in the woods with her two pit bulls "guarding" her partially eaten body.
The body of Bethany Lynn Stephens, an experienced dog trainer, was found naked and dismembered by her father when he went looking for her and her pets Tonka and Pacman, in Goochland, Virginia.
After news spread of the 22-year-old woman's horrific death, the Goochland County Sheriff department was flooded with phone calls and questions on social media about the incident, with speculation and misinformation quickly running rife.
"The victim had defensive wounds on her hands and arms [caused by] trying to keep the dogs away from her, which would be consistent with being attacked while she was still alive," Sheriff Agnew said in an earlier interview.
In the latest development, the Goochland County Sheriff’s Office released results of post-mortem examinations on the dogs that found human hair in the dogs’ faeces.
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The hair was described as “light coloured and wavy”, and further tests will be done to establish whether or not it belonged to Ms Stephens.
It has now been revealed a large portion of Ms Stephens' face had been eaten and she was completely naked except for one boot - her other found nearby.
Her mobile phone was found in half with bite marks on it.
Authorities previously ruled out foul play after reports the young woman had received death threats in the days before her death.
Many apparent dog experts refused to believe Ms Stephens' pets were responsible for her death, so investigators released the new details as further proof she was mauled to death by her dogs, rather than murdered as speculated.
Ms Stephens’ employer Tori Trent told local media she had known both dogs since they were pups and refused to believe the pets were responsible for Ms Stephens' death.
“They were both very passive dogs,” Ms Trent told WTVR.*
The disbeliever has started a hashtag campaign #justiceforbethany on Facebook, accusing the police of failing to consider possibilities other than dog mauling to blame for the woman's death.
“We demand a true investigation on what happen!! [sic]” she wrote on Facebook last week.
Despite her grisly death, photos of Ms Stephens and her pit bulls paint a loving relationship between owner and pet. It was later revealed the dogs were "a little big neglected" in the lead-up to the tragedy.
Dealing with her own personal problems, Ms Stephens left Tonka and Pacman with her dad.
It was there, police believe the dogs weren't fed daily and had gone from living inside to spending their time outside as the colder months approached.
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"This was such a huge lifestyle change,” certified master dog trainer Valerie Paul explained to local media.
Ms Paul said, while hard to fathom, dogs can "view even their owners as threats or food sources" and the fact that the dogs attacked and ate Ms Stephens was "a dog thing" - not a matter of their breed.
"When we see a body, we think of our loved ones and all of the memories that they bring to us, dogs don’t, in general."
"There are so many factors within that lifestyle change that we may see as small things that the dogs may see as larger.”
"Most dogs aren’t going to just turn on an owner... the fact that they are pit bulls doesn’t connect to what they did, it is a dog thing."
With the family's permission the dogs were euthanised in the days after the attack.
