Animal Lover Is Killed in Dog Attack While Walking to School, Owner Charged

A young Georgia woman was killed in a vicious dog attack, and now the animal’s owner is charged with involuntary manslaughter.

On Wed, Dec. 18, at about 10:30 a.m., Samara Rogers was walking on Ira Road in Augusta when two dogs attacked her, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.

Deputies responded to the 3500 block of Ira Road in response to a call about a dog attack and found Rogers, who had been mauled by the dogs.

She died at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.

Hours later, police arrested Charles Blackwell, 55, and charged him with involuntary manslaughter, according to the sheriff’s office.

Arrest warrants obtained by local outlet WRDW allege that Blackwell, the dogs’ primary owner, did “cause the death of another human without any intention to do so.” 

The dogs attacked Rogers, biting her in the face and torso, the warrants allege.

She was pronounced dead on the scene at 11:05 a.m., according to the Coroner’s Office, WJBF reports.

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As authorities continue to investigate, Rogers’ family and friends are mourning their loss and trying to make sense of what happened.

Rogers’ mother, Tameka Harris, told WRDW she was shocked when she learned what had happened to her daughter.

“I didn’t know where she was. Why like that? It’s such a painful death,” said her mom. “And I could just hear her saying, ‘Help me.’ In my mind, I could just hear her saying, ‘Help me.’”

In a GoFundMe set up to help defray funeral costs, Yashaka Brigham wrote that the young woman she called Lu Lu “was always thinking of others. She had such a beautiful soul, and all she wanted to do was to become successful! Sadly, on Tuesday morning, on her walk to school, she was mauled to death by an angry dog or dogs. It hurts so badly to know that this is the way she spent her last minutes of life.”

“She loved animals, by the way,” the GoFundMe page added.

It is unclear whether Blackwell has retained an attorney who can comment on his behalf.