ASHVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – Two people charged in the death of a woman after she was attacked by dogs were in court Wednesday morning.

According to the Pickaway County Prosecutor’s Office, additional charges were added for a mother and son, who were initially facing three felony charges after their dogs allegedly killed an elderly woman on Oct. 17.

An additional third-degree involuntary manslaughter charge was added, along with two misdemeanor dangerous dog charges, to the case against Susan and Adam Withers, the owners of two dogs that had to be killed by police after the attack.

The Withers are also each facing first-degree involuntary manslaughter charges and two four-degree felony dangerous dog charges. They were arrested on Oct. 31 and issued $500,000 bonds.

Those charges stem from the death of JoAnn Echelbarger, who was tending to her flower bed at her Ashville home on Kildow Court when the dogs attacked her. She was taken to a Columbus hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

Ashville police arrived at Echelbarger’s home, where both dogs were located. An officer shot and killed one dog, which reportedly became aggressive towards him, but the other dog ran away from the scene.

The second dog allegedly attacked and killed another dog near Teays Valley East Middle School, before being located by deputies with the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office. A deputy reported that he ran over the dog, then shot and killed the dog before it could attack anyone else, according to the Ashville Police Department.

Court records indicate that the Withers, owners of two pit bull terriers, had received as many as seven warnings from their HOA, or lawyers representing The Reserve at Ashton Village, beginning as early as Sept. 2020.

By Nov. 2023 attorneys representing the Condominium Association stated in a letter that the dogs were no longer permitted at the Kildow Court residence. A month earlier, a former neighbor had reported her mother had been attacked by one of the dogs, which then killed her puppy.

In Jan. 2024, the HOA denied an appeal and the dogs were again ordered to be removed within 14 days.

The HOA sued the Withers in Pickaway County Court of Common Pleas and on Sept. 11, 2024, a judge ordered the removal of both dogs from the Kildow Court home, “immediately and permanently.” Nearly five weeks later, Echelbarger was reportedly attacked and killed by the dogs.

Susan and Adam Withers are next scheduled to appear in court for a jury trial on Feb. 10.