John Galligan believes a Bell County grand jury improperly indicted Brenda Parker of Garland on charges of manslaughter and reckless injury to a child. In the motion, he asks a judge to dismiss the indictment because there is a more specific statute that applies.
That statute is Lillian's Law. Passed by the Texas Legislature in 2007, it imposes felony penalties against a dog owner if the pet causes serious bodily injury or death to a victim in an unprovoked attack.
Penalties range from two to 20 years in prison, plus fines. The penalties for manslaughter, a second-degree felony, are the same.
Several different scenarios could play out as a result of the motion. If a judge denies the motion, the case will continue forward, but if it's granted, the indictment would be discharged.
If the latter scenario occurs, prosecutors would then need to decide whether to reindict under the more specific statute or allow the case to fizzle.
Lillian's Law is named after Lillian Stiles, a Thorndale-area resident killed four years ago by a pack of Rottweiler-pit bull cross dogs.
Galligan also filed a motion asking the state to pay up to $1,500 to hire a consultant with expertise in fatal dog attacks. Galligan, court-appointed in this case, wants Karen Delise to be available as a potential witness for the defense.
Ms. Delise is a New York state-licensed veterinary technician and author of "Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics."
Misty Lovitt, the mother of Seth Lovitt, the boy killed in the attack, had a pretrial hearing Thursday. Lovitt, represented by Belton attorney Jim Hewitt, received a trial date of March 22. She also faces charges of manslaughter and reckless injury to a child.
Hewitt said after his client was charged in August, she was placed on unpaid leave at work and eventually had to file for bankruptcy. The move made it impossible for her to retain Hewitt's services, but the court ruled Thursday that he could continue on the case as her court-appointed attorney.
The charges are related to 11-year-old Seth Lovitt's death. At about 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2007, Seth and his brother were aggressive with each other inside their home in the 2900 block of Fairlane Drive in Killeen.
At one point, a full-grown pit bull named Little, who had lived with the family for about 10 weeks, jumped from the couch and knocked Seth to the ground and latched onto his neck.
Ms. Lovitt pulled the dog off her son, who stood briefly before collapsing. He was later pronounced dead at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood.
Prosecutors say there is evidence the women knew the dog had violent tendencies, First Assistant District Attorney Murff Bledsoe said in August.
