A Texas couple whose pit bulls viciously mauled an elderly veteran to death will each spend nearly a decade behind bars for the unprovoked attack.
Ramon Najera, 81, died when he was attacked by two dogs that had escaped their yard and charged at him and his 74-year-old wife, Juanita, in San Antonio.
San Antonio first responders who arrived to the scene witnessed Najera’s bloodied body being dragged by one of the dogs involved in the deadly attack. The dogs then attacked firefights, who were forced to fight them off with pick axes.
The dogs’ owners – Christian Morena and Abilene Schneider – were each slapped with lengthy prison sentences on Friday for the deadly mauling on Feb. 24, 2023, according to the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney’s Office.
Juanita told the court on Friday that she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and “extreme loneliness and emptiness”, according to courtroom video by WOAI.
“I would never have imagined I’d be calling myself a widow at this time in my life, and in this tragic way,” she said. “PTSD is now something I will have to deal with the rest of my life.”
Morena will spend the next 18 years behind bars, with Schneider receiving a 15-year prison sentence, with the DA’s Office stating the couple was criminally negligent by not providing adequate fencing and allowing the dogs to roam free.
The married couple is also prohibited from ever owning or possessing dogs again, prosecutors said.
The horror unfolded when Najera and Juanita, who had just arrived on the street to visit friends, stepped outside of their vehicle and were suddenly attacked by the dogs – who were not leashed or restrained.
The pets escaped from the yard and bolted for Najera, latching onto him and dragging him along the street before they were eventually warded off by firefighters with axes.
Najera died as a result of the attack, and three others, including Juanita, also suffered injuries.
DA Joe Gonzales called the unprovoked attack a “preventable” tragedy.
“The defendants’ failure to act responsibly and secure their pit bulls resulted in injuries and the loss of a life. I believe the defendants received adequate punishment and justice has been served for the Najera family,” Gonzales said in a news release.
The widow of the elderly Air Force veteran filed a wrongful death lawsuit in March against the dog owners over the death of her husband.
She stated that Morena and Schneider failed to secure, monitor and control their dogs and knew they were dangerous, according to the Bexar County filing, cited by News4SA.
Before Schneider was arrested, she publicly apologized to the Najera family but maintained the death wasn’t her husband’s fault.
Schneider said that after the dogs were fix, they became more aggressive and started fighting each other.
The dogs, Staffordshire terriers named King and Snow, along with a third dog, were taken by animal control and euthanized shortly after the attack.
