Harrison Township, OH — November 6, 2024 — Susan and Adam Withers, the Ashville dog owners whose dogs were involved in a fatal attack, have pleaded Not Guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of failure to confine a dog. The charges stem from the tragic death of 73-year-old JoAnn Echelbarger, who was killed in a dog attack on Thursday, October 31, 2024, in the 600 block of Kildow Court, Harrison Township.
Echelbarger was tending to her flower beds when she was attacked by two pit bulls, named Apollo and Echo, owned by the Withers family. Emergency responders arrived at the scene around 3:30 p.m., and Echelbarger was transported to Grant Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead after going into cardiac arrest due to the severity of her injuries.
The investigation into the incident revealed a troubling history of complaints about the Withers’ dogs, dating back to 2015. Neighbors in the Reserve at Ashton Village reported multiple incidents involving the pit bulls running unleashed and uncontrolled. Court documents show that in March 2023, Echo bit a person, and in October 2023, Apollo attacked and killed another dog.
Despite these incidents, the Withers resisted efforts to have the dogs removed. In December 2023, the family acknowledged that the dogs had not been leashed or under control during previous attacks but insisted that the animals had been “provoked.” After several complaints, the homeowners association (HOA) filed a legal injunction in April 2024, requesting the removal of the dogs. The HOA’s filing highlighted over a dozen complaints, including the two previous attacks.
In September 2024, a Pickaway County Judge ruled in favor of the HOA and ordered the removal of the two dogs from the property. The Withers were given time to comply with the order, but before they could act, the fatal attack on Echelbarger occurred.
Following the attack, both Apollo and Echo were euthanized, and the Withers were arrested and charged. The Withers were each held on a $500,000 bond and are scheduled for further hearings as the case progresses.
At their initial court appearance, Susan and Adam Withers entered Not Guilty pleas to the charges. The involuntary manslaughter charge is a felony, while the two counts of failure to confine a dog relate to the repeated incidents involving their dogs running uncontrolled. Their case is scheduled for pretrial on 12/20/24, currently they are being held on a half a million dollar bond.
