Coroner sees death of Arkansas woman as likely a dog attack

The Johnson County coroner said she suspects that a 75-year-old Hartman woman was killed Monday in a dog attack.

Pam Cogan said the woman, whom she would not identify Tuesday because the woman's next of kin had not been notified, had gashes on her arms, legs and scalp, and puncture wounds that appeared to be made by canine teeth.

There were dog tracks around where the woman's body was found, and neighbors had reported seeing dogs in the area.

Cogan said there is no leash law in Hartman.

Johnson County Sheriff Larry Jones would not speculate Tuesday on how the woman died.

He said he would wait for an autopsy by the state Crime Laboratory in Little Rock. He said he does not suspect foul play.

Cogan said she pronounced the woman dead at 4:55 p.m. Monday.

She said she believed the woman had been dead four or five hours.

The woman was found by her sister, who lived with her, about 4:10 p.m. Monday outside her home off U.S. 64. Jones said the woman's sister called 911, and sheriff's deputies and emergency personnel were sent to the home. Hartman is 6 miles west of Clarksville.

Cogan said the woman's body was found in the large yard about 100 feet from the house and about 150 feet from U.S. 64.

Trees and tall grass along the highway obscured the view of the woman's home and yard, Cogan said.

Jones said there had been a water leak at the home and that workers had dug a trench across the driveway.

The woman had been picking up stones from that digging, he said.

State Desk on 11/01/2017

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