85-Year-Old Kaufman Woman Mauled by Dogs

Eight aggressive dogs to be euthanized, police say

The body of an 85-year-old Kaufman, Texas, woman found deceased in her home Monday had been mauled by dogs, police say.

Officers were called to a home in the 1400 block of E. First Street at about 4:45 p.m. after the woman, identified as Dorothy Hamilton, had been found deceased by her son.

Police said two dogs broke through a bedroom door to get to the woman but they have not been able to confirm if the dogs killed her or if they mauled her after she died. Investigators are classifying the incident as an unexplained cause of death pending the autopsy results from the medical examiner.

The woman's son, identified by family members as Michael Hamilton, told police he had seen his mother alive earlier in the day.

Eight dogs were found on the property and all of them were seized by authorities.  Police said all of the dogs, described as pit bulls, are very aggressive and will be euthanized.

Hamilton lived at the residence with her son Michael, who police said owned the dogs and had been keeping two of the animals inside the home.

Willie Thompson said he knew his cousin Michael had a couple of dogs but didn't know there were so many on the property.  Thompson said the dogs he saw weren't aggressive and were "more of a pet."

"Any time you lose a loved one in a tragic incident like this ... a sudden death, that's a hard thing to go through, so we working through it right now," said Thompson.

Carl Garmon, the victim's oldest son, said he was aware that the dogs were in the house and that his mother wanted them out.

"I was talking to her on the telephone, she was telling the dogs, 'Go on, Go on, Go on.' And, she said, 'I'm going to tell your brother to get the dogs out of the house,'" said Garmon. "She was a good woman, a very good woman. She loved everybody. Everybody in Dallas that knew her loved her.'

Police said no charges have been filed in the case at this time.

NBC 5's Greg Janda and Frank Heinz contributed to this report.

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