Walworth authorities release details of fatal pit bull attack

Neil Johnson

FONTANA
What started as an annoyed slap to deter a jumping dog ended in a horrific attack by two pit bull dogs that left a babysitter's clothing shredded and a 14-month-old boy naked, lacerated and dead of multiple dog bites.
According to Walworth County Sheriff's Office reports released Monday, North Lake Shore Drive resident Susan Iwicki's two 45-pound pit bull terriers Bosston and Penny turned from playful and "nippy" to vicious March 6 as she took them outside her Fontana home while holding Daxton Borchardt, a 14-month-old boy she was baby sitting for a friend.
Iwicki, 30, told deputies the dogs were jumping up and nipping and that as she yelled at them and batted them away, the dogs went into a violent frenzy, brutally attacking her and Daxton, according to reports.
Iwicki said she "fought for her and Daxton's life" as the young boy's blood covered the snow in her yard.
She said the dogs gnashed and bit her, injuring her hand. The dogs tore off large parts of her coat and shredded it to pieces, sending her cellphone flying and knocking her to the ground.
Iwicki then lost hold of Daxton and the boy went sprawling to the ground. The dogs lunged onto Daxton and began a brutal and ultimately fatal attack on him, according to Iwicki's accounts.
Iwicki screamed for help and tried to kick the dogs away as one stood on her back, mauling her. As the dogs stalked in circles around Daxton, she somehow managed to get the pit bulls and Daxton separated. Inside her house, she used baby gates to keep Daxton and the dogs in different rooms while she called 911 and shouted frantic and panicked pleas for help.
By then, Daxton was critically injured and was losing massive amounts of blood, according to reports.
A deputy was the first to arrive at what deputies at first feared was a murder, according to reports.
Blood and fabric were all over the yard where the attack took place.
The first deputy to arrive said one of the pit bulls came out of the house, and sniffed him, and ran back inside. He drew his gun, but decided the dog was not a threat at the time.
The deputy said he yelled for Iwicki to get the dogs out of the house and away from the scene. He then went into another room. There he found Daxton. The toddler was completely naked and lying motionless on his back on the floor in puddle of blood that was "everywhere," according to reports.
The deputy at the time believed the boy was dead, but then Daxton began to gasp and at one point glanced at the deputy with his left eye, according to the report.
Daxton was first taken by ambulance to Mercy-Walworth Medical Center, and later flown by helicopter to a Milwaukee children's hospital with "critical" injuries.
Daxton was later pronounced dead of injuries from multiple dog bites.
Iwicki was treated and released for injuries at Mercy-Walworth Hospital, according to reports.
Daxton's father, Jeffrey Borchardt, who is a part-time disc jockey, was helping Iwicki's boyfriend install carpeting at another residence when the attack happened.
It's not clear where Daxton's mother, Borchardt's spouse was at the time, and police did not name her in the report.
According to reports, Iwicki called her boyfriend in a panic after the attacks, and he left the carpet job site "like a rocket."
He would not tell Borchardt why, only that something had happened involving Daxton, according to reports.
A man working at a resort next door told deputies he'd heard Iwicki's screams but didn't go check out the situation because he thought it was children having a snowball fight at a nearby playground.
The man also told deputies he'd been watching "too many horror movies lately," and suggested that was why he did not investigate the screams, according to reports.
Deputies reported that the dogs were trying to ram past chairs blocking a door to get near officers and medics who were tending to the critically injured Daxton.
Deputies used pepper spray to keep the pit bulls at bay, and they used hot dogs to entice the dogs into snares, according to reports.
Area humane society officials helped deputies load the pit bulls into crates and removed them from the scene, according to reports. A local veterinarian later killed both dogs, and officials collected the dogs' heads for rabies testing at the Waukesha County Medical Examiners Office. Both tested negative for rabies.
One of the pit bulls, Penny, was identified in a prior veterinarian chart on file at Geneva Lakes Animal Hospital as "stand-offish." The chart notes the dog was easily startled and would "hide behind" its owner during visits to the vet, according to reports.
None of those records noted that either of the dogs, which were 3 years old, showed signs of violence while getting veterinary care at the facility. Records at the clinic show both dogs had been spayed and neutered there.
The clinic notes also advise that pit bulls, Rotweilers and German shepherd dogs generally tend to "freeze" before they attack instead of running away, and they can tend to give little warning before an attack.
The fatal attack has sparked a controversy over pit bull dogs. Officials disagree over whether pit bulls are any more dangerous, aggressive or likely than other dogs to attack, or whether pit bull attacks are any likelier to be fatal than other dog attacks.
To Jeffrey Borchardt, it doesn't matter. He told police he can hardly look at his deceased son's toys, and he and his wife are so distraught over the death that they plan to move away.
Police have said there are no criminal charges pending. Borchardt has vowed he'll lead a charge to have pit bull dogs "bred into extinction."
He told deputies after the incident that he plans to "get pit bulls banned by insurance companies," and said he never wanted to see Iwicki or her boyfriend again. - See more at: http://www.gazettextra.com/article/20130402/ARTICLES/304029999#sthash.mzJXVxDj.dpuf