WASHINGTON — A 28-year-old Maryland woman has died after police said her fiance’s dog attacked her Thursday morning.
Jenna Rae Sutphin of Huntingtown, Maryland, was pronounced dead around 5 p.m., Maryland State Police confirmed.
A driver traveling along Maryland Route 4 in Calvert County called 911 around 7 a.m. after seeing an animal attacking something, but couldn’t give more details, said Elena Russo of the Maryland State Police.
When the trooper arrived at the overgrown area near the highway, which is adjacent to Sutphin’s home, the dog was actively attacking her, police said.
Sources who responded to the scene said that Sutphin was bitten in the back of the head and neck. She was sent to a local hospital and then life-flighted to Medstar Washington Hospital Center. She died Thursday night.
Investigators don’t know the circumstances of why the dog attacked Sutphin near her home.
They say it is unclear if the dog was kept outside, or if it got out of the house and she was trying to find it.
It was a Dogo Argentino, described as a large, white muscular dog, which can weigh up to 100 pounds. The dog belonged to Sutphin’s fiance, Russo said.
The responding state trooper reported that when he arrived, the dog began to approach him, and that he shot and wounded the dog, which then ran away. He then gave aid to the victim and called for an ambulance, Russo said.
But, in searching for the dog later, Russo said, it again threatened Calvert County sheriff’s deputies and state troopers, who shot and killed the dog.
