Sebastiano Quagliata, 46, and his wife, Valbona Lucaj, 45, will stand trial beginning Feb. 3 in Lapeer County Circuit Court. They face up to life in prison if convicted.
The couple owned two large Cane Corso dogs that attacked and killed Craig Sytsma, 46, a father of three, as he jogged down rural Thomas Road the evening of July 23.
Prosecutors chose to charge the pair with second-degree murder — a rare prosecution in dog maulings — because the dogs had bitten at least two people leading up to the killing, and Lucaj had been warned by the family vet three months before that the dogs were dangerous and needed immediate training. And investigators say Quagliata admitted the day of the killing that the dogs routinely escaped from their kennel to run the neighborhood.
Under Michigan law, a defendant can be convicted of second-degree murder if he or she knowingly created a risk of great bodily harm or death, even if they didn't intend to kill or harm. The charge has sometimes been successfully used in prosecuting drunk drivers who killed somebody, but the use of it in a dog mauling case is unusual in Michigan.
"Generally, these cases are charged as manslaughter," said prominent defense attorney Michael McCarthy, who most recently represented high-profile defendant Bob Bashara, convicted of murdering his wife. "My guess is that the prosecutors will introduce (the prior bites) to show that these people knew these dogs were dangerous, and that somebody was going to get hurt."
Defense attorney Robyn Frankel said the severity of the prior attacks will play a role. "Dogs bite. Was it enough that is should have raised concerns?"
Jurors, though, may be put off by the size and reputation of the Cane Corsos, known for their aggression, she said.
"You don't own a dog of that size without some serious training," Frankel said.
Colleen Lynn, founder of DogsBite.org, a Texas-based nonprofit organization that tracks dog bites across the nation, said police and prosecutors in recent years are growing more aggressive in prosecuting owners of dangerous dogs.
"We're seeing it in California, and now in Michigan," she said.
The uptick is due, in part, to the growing number of dog owners harboring large, and sometime aggression-prone canines like bull mastiffs, pit bulls, and rarer breeds like Cane Corsos. Her organization tracked 41 dog mauling deaths nationwide in 2014, the majority involving pit bulls and rottweilers.
In August, a California man was convicted of second-degree murder after several of his pit bulls mauled to death a woman walking in the small town of Littlerock.
"In general, about 20% to 22% of attacks result in criminal charges," Lynn said. "I think prosecutors are sometimes leery of prosecuting, because the owners don't usually have criminal records, and they're worried the jurors will feel sorry for them. But there is this sense out there that people have had enough. In the Michigan case, when you add it all up, it's clear they had the knowledge of what these dogs were capable of."
(Detroit Free Press - Jan 2, 2015)
Earlier:
- Lapeer prosecutor says he would have acted if told of prior dog attacks
- Police, animal control did little as dogs attacked walkers, records say
- Illegal aliens facing murder charges, deportation after dogs killed jogger
- Deadly dog mauling: A timeline of events for fatal attack in Lapeer County
- Two massive cane corso dogs maul to death Michigan jogger, owner could face charges
- 'I'm dying,' jogger gasped after vicious dogs attacked
- Dog bite victim, 73, says owner tried to pay him off
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