John McCarthy
SAVANNAH — A Georgia woman is charged in the death of 86-year-old woman who was found dead in her yard after she was “viciously attacked” by two dogs, a sheriff’s office said.
Appling County sheriff’s deputies and first responders discovered Maria D. Nunez’s body outside her home in Baxley on October 8, the sheriff’s office said on October 9.
The dogs believed to have killed her were located and secured by deputies.
Now, Misty Ann Branch, 53, of Baxley, has been arrested on charges of reckless conduct and involuntary manslaughter, the sheriff’s office announced in an October 10 news release.
Information on her legal representation was not immediately available.
Branch owned each dog that mauled Nunez, the sheriff’s office confirmed to WTOC.
Nunez is survived by three daughters who also live in Baxley, three brothers, nine grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild, according to her obituary. Baxley is about a 90-mile drive southeast from Savannah.
Appling County Chief Deputy Gene Davis told WTOC that the county is experiencing “a dog problem, just like every other county that does not have an animal control unit.”
“We are working with the board of commissioners to rectify the situation,” he added, according to the TV station.
By JULIA MARNIN/McClatchy News
Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.
