Man Mauled To Death In Driveway By Pack Of Dogs

POSTED: 7:37 am EDT June 14, 2006

PHELAN, Calif. -- What began as a homicide investigation in California's Mojave Desert has been resolved: it was death by pit bull.

A man was found dead in the driveway of a home.

The San Bernardino County coroner's office and sheriff's investigators said when deputies found 27-year-old Shawn Lee McCafferty's body, they thought he'd been murdered. He had severe trauma to his upper body.

But the investigation shows he was attacked on June 7 by as many as eight pit bulls outside a suspected methamphetamine lab. The death was being investigated as a homicide until his girlfriend, Lacy Gidney, came forward this week and reported the mauling. She said she was also attacked, but escaped by climbing a fence and running away.

A sheriff's spokeswoman said when officers returned to the home to impound the dogs, authorities discovered a suspected drug lab and arrested 52-year-old property owner Pam McKee and 78-year-old Jereme Miller. They were later released pending a full investigation.

An animal control spokeswoman said the dogs have been impounded but their fate hasn't been determined.