KEY POINTS

  • The unnamed 39-year-old victim was found unconscious and unresponsive in his home
  • He reportedly had bite marks all over his body from at least two of his pet dogs
  • The dogs were taken by authorities and an autopsy is underway to determine the victim's cause of death

A disabled man was found dead in his Brooklyn, New York trailer home this week with bite marks all over his body from at least two pit bulls he had raised, police and a neighbor said.

The 39-year-old man, who was wheelchair-bound due to cerebral palsy, was found unconscious and unresponsive in his home located along Dumont Avenue, The New York Post first reported, citing authorities. His name has not been released as of Wednesday afternoon pending notification of his family.

He had suffered lacerations and puncture wounds that appeared to have been from the dogs, with his ears being "ripped off," police sources and neighbor Stephen Newell were cited as saying.

According to the Newell, police tranquilized the dogs and took them away. They were removed to Animal Care and Control.

The city's medical examiner's office will determine whether the man was killed by the dogs or died of natural causes before being attacked, police said.

The victim was rescued from an abusive home and had been living in the trailer for four years with a couple, Cindy and Angel, who took care of him. Newell said the group had three pit bulls under the age of five named Max, Ezra and America.

Both Angel and Cindy were outside when the tragedy happened, according to Newell.

"Cindy came outside for a bit. When she went back in, it was already over with," the neighbor was quoted as saying.

"I didn't hear the dogs, I heard Angel and Cindy screaming out here," Newell recalled. "I thought they were having a little spit-spat."

Angel, however, collapsed on the street, Newell said. She then proceeded to call 911 and asked for medical directions to revive the man.

"[Cindy] keeps blaming herself, but I told her it's not her fault," he said. According to Newell, the couple is "upset" over the incident. "Angel couldn't sleep," he claimed.

The neighbor was stunned by the incident as the dogs were allegedly raised by the victim since they were puppies.

"They were their family dogs, they had them for years," the neighbor said. "This is all strange, I don't know why they would do that."

According to Newell, one of the dogs — which he believes to be Ezra — was locked in a back room and did not appear to have been involved in the incident.

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