Initial reports in this case made it sound more exotic than it probably is. A 77-year-old woman named Brenda Hamilton was killed in her backyard in Pantego, North Carolina, in Beaufort County by an animal or animals. At first they only issued a statement saying that the DNA taken from the scene didn’t match that of any kind of animal indigenous to the area. That offers a lot of gray area, and a lot of room for speculation. This is probably why the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department released a second statement. “Canine DNA was found on Mrs. Hamilton’s clothing, however the testing does not differentiate between wild canines such as wolf or coyote indigenous to the area and domestic canines. At present Sheriff’s Investigators are collecting DNA from domestic canines in the area for further testing.”
Probably this poor lady was killed by nothing more unusual than a dog, or perhaps more than one dog. I do wonder, if the results reveal DNA that doesn’t match any dog, wolf, coyote, etc., would we even be told about it? Not that I expect this to happen. If I were a betting man, I’d say it was likely a representative of that sad cliché of typology, the pitbull. (I’m just basing that on statistics. Not saying all pitbulls are bad.)
Ms. Hamilton was still alive when help reached her, not expiring until later. It would seem she was unable to inform the paramedics what manner of animal attacked her.