Bond set at $50k for father charged in son's death

SOUTH CAROLINA -- The father of the 2-month-old boy mauled to death by a dog in the family's Ridgeville home last month was given a $50,000 personal recognizance bond Wednesday afternoon.

Quintin Harold McGrew, 28, is charged with unlawful neglect to a child after Dorchester County Sheriff L.C. Knight said McGrew left 2-month-old Aiden McGrew in the living room while he slept in a bedroom for more than an hour .

McGrew's wife, Chantel McGrew, said on Wednesday that she supports her husband "100%" and that the loss of their son has been "extremely" hard on them.

"Having to go to work and then go home to an empty house,  it's very, very upsetting," Chantel McGrew said. "When you wake up at 2 o'clock in the morning wondering where your baby is at, because the baby will wake up at 2 o'clock in the morning for his feeding and he's not there. All you can do is visit his grave site. It's really hard."

DHEC officials also reported on Wednesday that the dog that attacked Aiden has been put down.

The attack happened at the McGrew's mobile home on Sandpit Drive on April 20. The baby's mother told investigators that 2-month-old Aiden McGrew was apparently pulled from his swing and had his leg torn off by a golden retriever labrador mix.

Chantel McGrew said she found Aiden on the floor when she returned from taking her 7-year-old to the doctor. She also told deputies that the family was dog-sitting the golden retriever-labrador mix.
Dorchester County Sheriff's Office officials say the couple was planning to adopt the dog.

The Dorchester County Coroner's Office listed parental neglect as one of the causes for the 2-month-old's death. Coroner Chris Nisbet listed the cause of death as exsanguination, due to transection of blood vessels, due to animal eating, due to parental neglect.

He listed the manner of death as homicide.

Nisbet said that the baby was in a high chair when the child was attacked by the dog in the single-wide trailer home. However, during a frantic 911 call, McGrew's mother described the seat as a swing.

According to Nisbet, two adults, three children, two dogs and several chickens lived inside the home.

Dorchester County Sheriff L.C. Knight said that the infant was asleep near the father's room when the boy was attacked by the dog around 11 a.m. 

(WCSC - May 2, 2012)

Dorchester County infant dies from family dog attack

SOUTH CAROLINA -- A two-month-old boy was killed by his family's retriever Friday morning while his father slept and his mother was at the doctor with another child, authorities said.

Aiden Lee McGrew, born on Valentine's Day, died after he was bitten multiple times and dismembered by a dog inside his home at 151 Sandpit Drive in rural Dorchester County, Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nisbet said.

Sheriff L.C. Knight said no charges have been filed as the case remains under investigation.

The infant was in a baby swing in the nursery while his father, Quintin McGrew, slept in his bedroom with their 3-year-old child and the other family dog, Knight said.

The boy's mother, Chantel McGrew, came home from a doctor's appointment with their 7-year-old child and found the badly mauled baby on the floor, Knight said. She called dispatchers at 11:08 a.m. and reported that the child's leg had been severed.

The baby was taken to Summerville Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy is set for Saturday. Nisbet said the autopsy will help determine if the child died prior to being dismembered.

Although they say it's a Golden Retriever mix, it
looks more like a Nova Scotia mix to me. But I
agree it's a Retriever mix of some sort.

No matter what type of dog you have, you should
never leave it alone with an infant

The couple's two older children are in DSS custody, Knight said. The dog, locked in a sheriff's office pen, appeared friendly and eager to play Friday afternoon.

Knight said the family had baby-sat the golden retriever-mix in the past and recently took ownership of the dog when its family decided it didn't want it any more.

Both Knight and Nisbet said the case was among the worst they've ever experienced.

“This is about as bad as it can get for a police officer,” Knight said.

(Post and Courier - April 16, 2012)