A one-year-old boy was mauled to death by his babysitter’s pit bulls, who used the toddler in a ‘tug of war’ battle while a 13-year-old girl desperately tried to save him.
Jiryiah Johnson was in the care of 36-year-old Heather Rodriguez at her home in Converse, Texas, before she left the baby alone with her teenage daughter.
After the vicious attack, which lasted several minutes across different rooms in the home, Johnson was hospitalized in critical condition with bite wounds to his face, head and neck.
He suffered severe throat injuries and he was unable to breathe on his own, before he tragically passed away on Monday night.
Babysitter Rodriguez was arrested on a first-felony charge of injury to a child with serious bodily injury by omission – and she may face further charges for the injuries to her daughter, police said.
One-year-old Jiryiah Johnson was mauled by his babysitter’s dogs and used for ‘tug of war’ before he died in hospital due to his severe injuries
The dogs described as ‘XL pits’ had been previously known as problematic, and the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office had responded to calls concerning their behavior before
36-year-old Heather Rodriguez was arrested on a first-felony charge of injury to a child with serious bodily injury by omission and may face further charges for the injuries to her daughter
It’s understood that Rodriguez had left to go to work – and put her daughter in charge of the baby in her absence.
Baby Jiryiah and the teenage girl were secured inside a bedroom with the doors shut, away from Rodriguez’s three pit bulls, said Sheriff Javier Salazar of Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in a news briefing.
The door to the bedroom had previously been damaged by the dogs and was broken down again before they began a gruesome attack on the baby.
According to Salazar, the teen tried to keep control of the baby but described the fight for the child like a ‘tug of war’ that lasted several minutes.
She then locked herself and the baby into a bathroom, where the dogs forced their way in again – further attacking the baby as well as the 13-year-old.
The girl then left the baby with the dogs in order to grab her phone and call for help, before taking the child into another room and barricading the door with her body.
Johnson’s mother, Erika Castro, said she had not had time to process what had happened to her only child.
The 13-year-old girl and Johnson were secured inside a bedroom before the dogs forced their way in after the door was already damaged by the dogs previously
Johnson suffered severe throat injuries where he was unable to breathe on his own, before he passed away on Monday night
Rodriguez faces a first-felony charge of injury to a child with serious bodily injury by omission, and potentially faces charges due to her daughter’s injuries
Johnson’s parents set up a Cash App and wrote on Facebook: ‘I’m not one to do this but the circumstances of my son and me not able to return to work until further notice… We need all the prayers and support at this moment.’
Erika Castro and Julian Johnson (pictured) said their one-year-old was a ‘goofy, loving baby who was fascinated with dinosaurs and Bluey’
She told Kens5: ‘I wish she’d had stayed like she said she would’ve, instead of going into work like she got called into work.’
Sheriff Salazar described the baby’s condition as ‘heartbreaking’ and said the teen was a ‘hero’ for her efforts against the dogs, which he described as ‘XL pits’.
He said that the baby had been left in Rodriguez’s care in the home before and the parents knew that Rodriguez had dogs but didn’t know they were problematic.
‘In a house full of vicious dogs, what did this lady, the suspect, think was going to happen,’ he added.
Castro added: ‘I thank that girl because… she did her best.’
She said she was primarily focused on her son’s recovery before his passing.
‘I’ve been shaking, I’ve been having panic attacks…He’s fighting. He’s fighting, for sure,’ she said.
Castro and her partner Julian Johnson set up a Cash App to help the family pay for the child’s medical expenses, she posted on Facebook and said: ‘I’m not one to do this but the circumstances of my son and me not able to return to work until further notice… We need all the prayers and support at this moment.’
She added that her son was a ‘goofy, loving baby who was fascinated with dinosaurs and Bluey’, reported Kens5.
Rodriguez was arrested – and was seen being perp walked as her dogs were also taken in by authorities.
Salazar added that Rodriguez seemed more concerned about the dogs than the baby, she refused to give a statement to Bexar County Sheriff’s Office
Salazar said that the baby had been left in Rodriguez’s care in the home before and the parents knew that Rodriguez had dogs but didn’t know they were problematic
She had received a citation for having unleashed dogs earlier this year when they wouldn’t let a man out of his car, and Salazar said they had responded to calls about the dogs in the past.
Kalb reported that it was unknown where Rodriguez went or how long she was away from the home, and added she was not being cooperative with their investigation.
Salazar added that Rodriguez seemed more concerned about the dogs than the baby, she refused to give a statement to Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
The dogs were turned over to Animal Care Services and Child Protective Services is also investigating. Rodriguez is in Bexar County Jail with bonds totaling $100,000.
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