Police: Ohio Woman Found Dead Likely Killed by Her Great Danes

An Ohio woman found dead in her residence last week was likely killed by both of her Great Danes, authorities said Monday.

Mary Matthews, 49, of Waynesville, was found dead in her home Friday by her husband, according to the chief investigator for the coroner’s office, Doyle Burke.

“She was attacked by her dog or dogs,” Burke told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “She just bled to death by the bites she received.”

Burke said both the police and the dog warden knew about the dogs in the past, noting that there were other police reports filed regarding the dogs.

“They’ve bitten our victim in the past,” he said, adding that they were “known to be aggressive.”

Police were dispatched on Friday afternoon to the 7000-block of Waterway Drive in Waynesville for a report of a potential overdose, according to a police report.

Officers met the woman’s husband and son in the driveway. Upon examining the scene, police found bloody footprints leading to the home’s garage and blood in multiple rooms.

Police found Matthews’ dead body in a first-floor bathroom by the house’s front door, according to the report.

Her body was also covered in several puncture wounds and appeared to be missing a chunk of flesh from her ankle, NBC News reported.

The responding officer, Wendi Blaha, discovered two large, thin Great Danes on the deck, so covered in feces the deck could not be seen.

Mary’s husband, Mark, told Blaha that one of the dogs had bitten him and several others. Mark Matthews told WLWT that the couple took in the two Great Danes as rescues two years ago. Recently, one of the dogs grew violent and bit Mark in the arm.

“I wanted to get rid of him, but she wouldn’t,” Mark said. “She loves animals.”

A warden then took the dogs in for bite mark comparisons, according to the report. The Warren County Coroner’s Office told NBC News that both dogs will be euthanized.