Law enforcement officials in Kaufman, Texas seized eight pit bulls from the home of an 85-year-old woman who was found dead inside the house on Monday.
Police said the wounds on Dorothy Hamilton appeared to show that the woman was fatally mauled by dogs.
Police officers were called to the woman's home in the 1400 block of East First North Street at around 4:46 p.m., Monday. According to a report by WFAA, Hamilton's son made the call.
Once they arrived there, Kaufman Police Department authorities found Hamilton in the living room, along with a handful of canines.
"Two large, very aggressive pit bulls [were found] inside the residence and it appeared that the animals had attacked Hamilton," a statement from the department read.
Officers found eight dogs in total on the property, including the two found wandering inside the house, spokesperson for the Kaufman Police Department Capt. Ed Black told WFAA.
The dogs reportedly belonged to Hamilton's son, who lived with her at the Kaufman residence.
Police seized the dogs, which have been described as pit bulls, and said it seemed like two of the canines were being kept in a bedroom inside the house. An initial investigation showed that the two had "broken through the door to get to the victim."
But the cause of Hamilton's death has not yet been confirmed - authorities are probing whether the 85-year-old woman was killed by the canines, or if the dogs attacked her after she'd already fallen to the ground.
No charges in this case have been filed, Kaufman police told KCEN.
Neighbors told WFAA that they'd had problems with the dogs in the past.
According to Police Chief Dana Whitaker, who spoke with the local station in Dallas this week, the department has received multiple calls about the canines living on the premises. Residents have reportedly made "dogs at-large calls" as well.
