CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — An Ohio appellate court has upheld the involuntary manslaughter conviction of a Pickaway County man whose pit bulls escaped his home and fatally mauled a next-door neighbor tending her garden.
In a decision journalized on June 9, 2026, the Fourth District Court of Appeals rejected appeals from Adam Withers, who is currently serving an 11-to-16-and-a-half-year prison sentence for the October 2024 tragedy.
A Fatal Escape and a History of Warnings
The case stems from a horrific incident in October 2024, when two pit bulls broke free from the Ashville home Withers shared with his mother. The dogs launched a relentless assault on their next-door neighbor, who was gardening in her yard.
Responding officers described a chaotic scene. Ashville Police Sergeant Antonio Jester testified that he found the victim blood-soaked on the ground. When he tried to administer first aid, the dogs charged him. Jester fired his weapon, eventually shooting one of the dogs after it ran back to bite the victim a second time. Both dogs were ultimately euthanized by law enforcement.
At trial, prosecutors painted a picture of long-standing negligence, highlighting two key pieces of evidence:
- The Broken Door: Police had responded to Withers’ home twice in the months leading up to the attack (June and September 2024). On both occasions, officers noted the front door lacked a working deadbolt and was stuffed with a towel, allowing it to easily push open. Withers admitted to police he bought a replacement lock but it did not fit.
- A Prior Violent Incident: In October 2023, one of Withers’ dogs had attacked another neighbor, Kimberlee Black, killing her puppy and biting her arm so severely that it broke her wrist and two fingers.
The Appeal Rejections
Withers’ appellate attorney, April F. Campbell, raised three assignments of error, arguing that the trial court should not have allowed evidence of the prior 2023 attack, and that there was insufficient evidence to prove Withers owned the dogs or failed to confine them.
Writing for the three-judge panel, Appellate Judge Peter B. Abele systematically rejected those arguments.
1. Prior Attack Evidence Was Legally Admissible
The defense argued that showcasing the 2023 puppy-killing incident was prejudicial “character” evidence. The court clarified that under Ohio law, dogs are legally considered personal property, not people.
“The dog was not on trial in this case, so evidence of bad acts by the dog does not implicate Evid.R. 404(B),” the court wrote, adding that the prior attack was highly relevant to prove the dogs met the legal definition of “dangerous” or “vicious” under state statutes.
2. “Locked” House Does Not Equal Confined Dogs
Withers argued that he had locked the dogs in a bedroom and locked the house doors before leaving on the afternoon of the attack, claiming he had “no idea” how they escaped.
The appellate court dismissed this defense, ruling that because the dogs escaped, the enclosure was inherently insecure. The court noted that a dog owner is strictly responsible for ensuring their animals do not roam free, regardless of their subjective belief that a door is locked.
Sentence Stands
Withers was convicted by a Pickaway County jury of first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter, alongside felony counts of failure to confine and failure to control a dog.
In April 2025, he was sentenced to consecutive terms of 11 to 16.5 years for involuntary manslaughter, plus 18 months for each of the dog-control felonies. With the appeals court overruling his challenges, his prison sentence remains fully intact.
