Autopsy: 22-Year-Old Was Mauled To Death By Her Dogs

GOOCHLAND, Va. – The autopsy of a Virginia woman found dead in a wooded area says she was mauled to death by her dogs.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the Goochland Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday it’s closing the investigation into 22-year-old Bethany Lynn Stephens’ death in light of the results. Stephens was found last December near her father’s home on Manakin Road.

The report says the medical examiner found defensive wounds on Stephens’ hands and arms from “trying to keep the dogs away from her” and that there was also evidence of her face, torso and arms having been chewed on by animals after she died.

Sheriff Jim Agnew, who released a seven-page report on the investigation, says the case will remain closed unless “somebody steps forward with some really strong evidence.”