An elderly Ohio woman was attacked and partially eaten by her neighbor's pigs in a horrific Christmas Day tragedy, police said.
Rebecca Westergaard, 75, was found dead on the property of her Pataskala home on a holiday afternoon after her niece applied for welfare, Pataskala police said. According to the Columbus Dispatch.
Westergaard, who lives alone, had planned to pick up her niece that morning, but she never showed up.
When police arrived at the home, they found Westergaard's body. Investigators believe the animal was attacked and killed by a pair of pigs that were wandering around the premises.
Pataskala Police Chief Bruce Brooks called the incident a “terrible, terrifying situation,” but told the Dispatch that the department could not reveal any more about the incident because the investigation is ongoing.
Brooks added that an autopsy is underway to determine Westergaard's cause of death, according to the local newspaper.
He confirmed that the pigs involved belonged to a neighbor, but said it was not yet known whether the owner would face criminal charges.
Their owners have not been named.
Pataskala City Councilwoman Mary Hite, who owns a meat market just 400 meters from Westergaard's home, told the Dispatch that the animals were not hers.
It also remains unclear what will become of the pigs after the alleged attack.
In Ohio, if a pet dog kills a person, the animal must be euthanized, but the state's laws are less clear about how to deal with vicious behavior in livestock.
“If it's a pit bull or a Rottweiler, or say the names of 15 other dogs that you think are semi-aggressive, you'll know right away,” Brooks said.
“But as livestock, we have never dealt with them here before.”
