Presumed dog attack victim died from a heart disease; injuries occurred after death, medical examiner says

Editor’s note: This story includes graphic detail that some readers may find upsetting.

SPOKANE, Washington (The Spokesman-Review) — The woman who was found dead last week with injuries believed to have been caused by her dog instead died from heart disease, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The medical examiner’s office determined 65-year-old Carol Streit’s cause of death was from an arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, a disease in which fatty tissue replaces parts of the heart muscle, causing the heart to become weaker over time.

Streit was located with her pit bull-mix dog on Dec. 13 shortly after 4 p.m. in a field southwest of East Buckeye Avenue and North Custer Road, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. A caller reported a woman lying face down next to a dog “with blood on its body.”

The dog was acting “protective” and “aggressive,” which prevented deputies and medical personnel from assessing her condition, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies eventually coaxed the animal away from Streit and determined she was dead on scene.

Streit’s pants were pulled down below her waist and she was wearing only a sports bra. Her arms were injured so badly that bone was exposed, court records said, and her right hand was missing.

The injuries deputies believed were caused by Streit’s dog occurred after death, the medical examiner’s office said, referring to it as “postmortem animal predation.”

It in no way contributed to her death, but her death was “sudden,” the office said.

The dog is being held at Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service pending further investigation, according to the sheriff’s office. County spokesperson Pat Bell said the dog has no bite history. Streit adopted the dog in October from SCRAPS.