Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Missouri: Baby scalped by pit bull in horrific attack at owner's house. With no concern about the baby, the owner fled with the dog and has hidden it, say police.

MISSOURI -- The baby boy mauled by a dog over the weekend in a Greenwood, Mo., home has had two traumatic events in his short life of 17-months.

FOX 4's Robert Townsend learned that when Isaiah Francis was seven-months old, his mom took him to the hospital because his head started swelling.


According to court documents, he was suffering from two skull fractures with bleeding on the brain.  Grandview Police arrested his babysitter, Angela Waln, 28, shortly thereafter in September 2014 and prosecutors charged her with child abuse.

She was due to be in court on those charges this week, but the prosecution requested a delay in that proceeding.


Now, ten months later, Isaiah is back in the hospital with a crushed jaw and numerous punctures and wounds from a dog attack.

Charges could still be filed against the owner of the dog that attacked Isaiah in Greenwood early Saturday evening.

Police believe the owner Shannon Cottrell hid the dog, described by neighbors as a "pit bull mix"  after it attacked the 17-month-old boy.  


Mike Mansur, spokesperson for the Jackson County Prosecutor's office says they are reviewing the case.

The dog's owner was previously charged with animal nuisance in Lee's Summit, according to Lee's Summit Police.

"It was the same dog that attacked the baby," said Chris Depue with Lee's Summit Police. Click here for additional information on the dog's history in Lee's Summit.

According to a Greenwood Police Department, police were called to the home to help get the child to the hospital as quickly as possible; they did not wait for paramedics.

The GoFundMe page set up to help the child's family pay his medical expenses, says the child underwent surgery over the weekend after his jaw was crushed and he suffered more than 60 puncture wounds from the attack.


The owners CLAIM the dog was a "rescue with a rough past". They CLAIM that the dog "did not handle stressful situations well" and that's why it tried to kill baby Isaiah Francis, who was apparently visiting the home where the dog lived.

If all this is true this makes them even more criminally liable for recklessly endangering this baby, which resulted in it being nearly killed by their dog.

"She was literally screaming, 'My baby, my baby is bleeding. Help, my baby, my baby,'…It was horrible," neighbor Michna Livingston said.

The GoFundMe page says the child's scalp was ripped from his head and that the mother was covered in his blood.

On Tuesday, the child was listed in good condition.

Below is an excerpt from the GoFundMe page, which has received more than $1,000 of the $5,000 goal:

Angel Raya stopped to check on an acquaintance that had recently had surgery. She entered the home carrying her beautiful one-year old son, Isaiah.



He is an active little guy and wanted to be put down to explore so his mother placed him on the floor. It is important to note that there were NO dogs in the house when the mother set her child down.

A minutes later, an older child that lives in the home opened a door and let a dog inside.

The dog attacked her child before Angel could do anything. She fought the dog off of her child screaming to call the police. The mother then ran outside where neighbors heard her screaming, "please help me, please help my baby."

She was covered in blood and literally holding his scalp to his head.

Lt. Fordham of the Greenwood Police Department says police originally thought the dog was a pit bull. It was also described as a white dog of medium build. The dog was euthanized on Sunday.

The investigation is ongoing and criminal charges may be pending.

Police said they were led to believe someone in the home removed the dog from the home after the attack, taking it to an unknown location, and then returning without the dog. The location of the dog was withheld from police. The possible charges could be for concealing evidence and assault.


Some comments from Facebook:

Renita Masoner - What? This dog was loyal and protective of children. The Cottrells made him aggressive.

Renita Masoner - That dog was very protective of children until they got their hands on him.

Lisa D. Smith - Renita, you're such a LIAR! YOU were the previous owner! Stop making yourself look so ridiculous!

Craig Brown - You need to turn yourself into the police.

Craig Brown - So Renita is the one that gave it a "checkered past?"

Renita Masoner - Chris, he wasn't dangerous until Shannon and Tyler got to him. Go screw yourself and you better remove that photo you took without my permission. Not sure what your ss is going to do, don't really care but the fact remains, they did this to him. Clearly in the pic you stole, you can see he was just fine around children before them.

Renita Masoner - Um, let's see, Shannon had 12 cops with AR15s surrounding her house because she was belligerent. No I am not the checkered past, they are the ones that caused all of this.

Leann Blydenburgh - So if the dog was euthanized why are they still looking for the dog? I'm confused.

Ellen Place Burger the family lied to the police

Leann Blydenburgh - So they are thinking that the receipt shown was for another dog?

Dee Glen-White - You caught that too?

Ellen Place Burger - No their first story about a stray dog attacked the child was a lie. Still holes in their story.

(FOX4KC - July 28, 2015)