Police: Woman killed, man injured after being mauled by dogs in north St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Police are investigating after a woman was mauled by dogs in her Walnut Park West backyard and later died at the hospital.

Keshia Anthony is devastated at the loss of her mom, who she identified as 62-year-old Gladys Anthony.

“I’m feeling the grief of what it feels like to be without my mother,” Anthony said. “The only person I could look to and do anything for or with. She’s gone. I don’t have her anymore. I can’t call her on the video phone and see how she’s doing. I can’t do none of that anymore. She’s gone.”

According to St. Louis Police, ShotSpotter detected shots fired around 11:40 p.m. in the 5900 block of Theodore Avenue. While officers were on their way to the scene, they were advised the call was changed to the need for office help.

Officers on scene found Gladys severely injured and her 73-year-old husband surrounded by three dogs that were barking at them in their backyard.

“They took a chunk of her arm,” Anthony said. “Her legs were ate up. There was nothing that could be done to stop those damn dogs from touching her.”

Police say her husband was fending off the dogs with a broom, and previously tried to distract the dogs by firing off shots.

The dogs escaped from a home just up the street through a hole in the owner’s fence, according to SLMPD.

“She was sweet. She was loveable. Everybody that knew her loved her. She had so many friends. It’s just crazy this happened to her like this. She didn’t deserve it at all. Not one bit of it and now she’s got grandkids who don’t have their grandmother,” Anthony said.

Two police officers pepper sprayed the dogs, while a third officer rushed the woman, who was heavily bleeding, into the home where they applied tourniquets until EMS arrived and transported the woman to an area hospital. Police later informed that the woman had died in surgery.

“This was an absolute tragedy. We want people to feel safe in their neighborhood. They have a right to feel safe in their neighborhood and we’re gonna expect that,” Mitch McCoy with SLMPD said.

The 73-year-old sustained several bites to his arms and legs but is expected to be okay.

The dogs fled the area but were found by police at a nearby home at 5931 Theodore. Animal Control then took custody of three dogs from the owner, a 54-year-old man.

The victim’s brother, John Jenkins, said his sister was also deaf, so she couldn’t hear the dogs coming.

“They wouldn’t let me go see my sister so I could say my last wishes to her,” Jenkins said. “That hurts. Me and her were the only two left in our own clan on this earth. Now it’s just me.”

Gladys was going to be celebrating her 63rd birthday in just over a week.

“I can’t bring her a gift. I’m sitting here trying to think of how we’re going to do arrangements for a funeral for my mother,” Anthony said.

The investigation is active at this time. The three dogs are being held at Animal Care & Control.

A GoFundMe has been set up for Gladys and her family.

The St. Louis City ordinance reads that if a dog aggressively attacks someone and causes severe injury or death, the commissioner of health decides whether or not they are euthanized.

The environmental health bureau chief confirmed that in 2022 there were 2 calls to the house where the dogs came from, but would not confirm it was for the same dogs.

This is the second case of a person being killed by a dog this week.

First Alert 4 will update this story once new information has been released.

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