Dogs Kill Elderly Couple

(Oglethorpe County, Georgia) An elderly couple, Lothar and Sherry Schweder, 77 and 66 respectively, were found dead Saturday on a dirt road in rural Oglethorpe County. The medical examiner ruled today that the couple had been killed by a pack of wild dogs.

Friends of the couple say Sherry often walked the dirt road for exercise. They say she took many stray dogs and cats into her home and nurtured and fed them. That's why it is so ironic and hard to believe the dogs turned on her.

Investigators say the last time the couple was seen was Friday night at their home. They believe Sherry Schweder was attacked on her walk and when she didn't come home, her husband drove down the road to find her. That's when he was attacked.

On Saturday morning, Oglethorpe deputies responded to the dirt road after the bodies were found by members of a nearby church. They found the couples car in the middle of the road and the bodies on either side of it.

Jim Fullington, GBI Special Agent in Charge of the Athens office said autopsies confirmed the cause of death Monday. "The preliminary results of both autopsies indicate that both Mr. and Mrs. Schweder died as a result of injuries received of multiple animal bites and we are assuming dog bites," he said.

Interestingly, I've heard from acquaintances down South that packs of wild dogs are fairly common. However, this report is the first time I've heard of people being attacked and killed.