Neighbour found not guilty after dogs killed great-grandmother and ‘dragged her down the street like a carpet’

District attorney says he respects outcome after recommending jail for 36-year-old man

Cecille Short, 82, who was killed in a dog attack in April 2017 (Cecille Short/Facebook )

A dog-owner in Oklahoma City has been found not guilty for the death of a great grandmother who was attacked by his American Bully dogs, in a decision that took jurors several hours to decide.

Antwon Burks, aged 36, was charged with second-degree murder for the death of Cecille Short, aged 82, who was attacked by his dogs in April 2017 and died.

Appearing in court on Friday, the former college footballer was found not guilty of Ms Short’s death after a jury deliberation of several hours, according to People.

Prosecutors argued that he had been aware of his two dogs having an aggressive nature, and accused him of “negligence” for failing to control the pair.

He had faced four years in prison, but pleaded not guilty ahead of the trial.

An attorney for Mr Burks told jurors that he could not have known that his dogs would kill, and that family told investigators the dogs were friendly.

“They were bought from a reputable breeder,” the attorney, Ed Blau, told Oklahoma News4. “They were well trained. We had witness after witness testify they didn’t think something like this could happen.”

As The Oklahoman reported, the great grandmother and neighbour of Mr Burks was killed by his dogs, who were killed after the incident. He was not thought to be at home at the time.

A witness told investigators that Ms Short had been “dragged her down the street like a carpet”, and that her small dog was torn apart. She suffered broken bones.

Responding the jury’s decision on Friday, district attorney David Prater told Oklahoma News4 that he was “heartbroken for the family of Cecille Short”, and that he did not “understand the verdict of the jury [but] we respect it”.

Mr Blau’s attorney thanked jurors for ending a four-year long wait for a verdict, and for working on an “extraordinarily tough case”.

According to reports, Mr Burks was formerly a quarterback for the Kansas State football side.