A three-year-old girl, Kingsley Wright, was fatally attacked by a dog while visiting her father’s Ohio apartment for Christmas.
On December 27, her distraught father made a frantic call to Cincinnati police after discovering his living room covered in blood and finding his young daughter lifeless on the ground.
“My baby is dead,” he told the dispatcher. “This has got to be a f***ing nightmare.”
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The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office has confirmed that the three-year-old girl was fatally mauled by the family’s three dogs, according to The Enquirer.
Kingsley’s mother, Gina Smith, had taken her from their Wilmington home to her father’s apartment in Roselawn on December 23 to celebrate the holidays. Smith, who had no idea the dogs were dangerous, said this was Kingsley’s first time staying at the apartment.
The last time Smith spoke to her daughter was via FaceTime on Thursday evening before Kingsley went to bed.
“It’s just been one big roller coaster,” Smith told The Enquirer. “I feel like we ain’t ever going to get off of it.”
At around 7:50 a.m. on Friday, Kingsley’s father discovered the horrific scene and informed police there was no sign of a break-in as the front door was still locked.
Dispatchers instructed him to secure any pets before authorities arrived. He responded that the three terriers were already in their cages.
“That’s why I’m like, did any of my pets attack her or something?” he said on the call. “I would have heard this.”
Relatives and friends have been debating on Facebook about the breed of the three family dogs, questioning whether they were pit bulls, XL bullies, or Cane Corsos—both of the latter being variants of pit bulls, according to Animals 24-7.
“Those kinds of dogs are over 100 pounds, so did they just sit on her and then start mauling on her?” Joshua Justice, Smith’s boyfriend, told WLWT.
“Did they crush her? And why?” he added. “What made them want to do that to just a little baby sleeping on the couch?”
Cincinnati Animal CARE was called to remove the three dogs from the home, placing them in a state-mandated 10-day quarantine.
That same morning, Smith received a message from the girl’s older sister, urging her to call about Kingsley. She then learned of Kingsley’s death and that the girl’s father had been taken for police questioning.
The coroner did not permit Smith to see her daughter due to the graphic nature of her injuries.
Smith told WLWT that leaving Kingsley at the home where she was mauled by three dogs “was the last time that I got to say goodbye to my baby.”
“I told her I loved her, and I would see her in a few days,” she added.
“I would have not left my baby around vicious dogs,” she told the outlet. “Why would I do that?”
No arrests have been made in connection with Kingsley’s death, but the department’s homicide unit is investigating and has been in contact with her family.
Smith’s only answer to those asking how this could’ve happened is “I don’t know.”
“For that poor baby to be attacked by dogs like that and him not hear it, you know, that’s what I’m questioning,” she told The Enquirer.
Smith hopes the police investigation will provide answers to her many questions.
Three days after the fatal attack, a detective informed Smith that a home security camera in the living room had recorded her daughter sleeping on the couch, according to WLWT.
“He is devastated and understands all of her mom and mom’s family’s feelings and is very sorry,” one friend of the father, Calissa H, said online.
“This is a nightmare, as he just learned that Kingsley was his daughter. He was so excited for her to spend time with him and meet her sister and family. He feels that it is his fault for not being able to protect her.”
Despite the loss of her daughter, Smith expressed gratitude for the support from the community.
She mentioned that several people have made decals in honor of Kingsley, and a childhood friend gifted her a throw blanket decorated with pictures of her daughter.
