An elderly Florida man was eaten alive by his neighbors’ dogs, and his body was so thoroughly dismembered that authorities estimate only about 30 percent of his body was left, WFTV Orlando is reporting.
83-year-old Michael Downing lived in the Franklin Arms apartment complex in Jacksonville. Next door to the apartment complex lived his neighbor, Lephus Felton, whose four dogs were kept in pens in his yard. Witnesses say the fence was not well-maintained and that it was full of holes big enough for Felton’s dogs to slip through.
Neighbor Mackenzie Partin believes the dogs dragged the man back through or under the fence and into Felton’s yard because that’s where what was left of Downing’s dismembered body was found.
“They had dragged him underneath, back up underneath, to eat on him… By far it’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life. There was only 30 percent left of his body probably.”
Neighbor Mark Jones told WJXT (Jacksonville) that it was only a matter of time before the dogs attacked someone.
"I haven't had much sleep since we saw it" said Mark Jones after seeing body of dog attack victim @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/3CHtCeiCA6
— Lorena Inclán (@LorenaInclanTV) August 22, 2016
For years, neighbors had been complaining to local authorities about the dogs, identified by The Florida Times-Union as all being three to five-years-old. One of the dogs is a Rottweiler, and the other three are mixed-breed. In fact, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office had been called to the address at least 14 times in the past few years, including at least one animal complaint. The anonymous tipster had told authorities the dogs were kept in small cages, lived in filth, and that Felton regular beat them with his fists. An animal welfare investigator found that the dogs appeared healthy, and no action was taken.
Following the attack, the dogs were taken to a local animal control facility. JSO officials hope to have dogs declared dangerous and then humanely euthanized.