Baby ‘torn apart’ by family dog dies after parents left her alone to go shopping

A five-month-old baby had body parts “torn apart” as she was killed by a family dog while her parents were out shopping.

Isis da Silva Sobrinho was at a house in Cidade Ocidental, south of Brasilia, Brazil, when she was savaged on June 4 and taken to hospital after the mixed-breed pet attacked her, before tragically dying from her injuries. The medics who saw her said she had head injuries and that parts of her body had been “torn apart.”

Her parents told the police they had left her at her paternal grandmother’s house while they went to the shops to buy lighter fluid for a barbecue. But the baby’s grandparents were also out when she was left sleeping on the sofa and the only adult around was her paternal uncle, who was in the garden. He told police he had only noticed his brother leaving the house and he had assumed, therefore, that the five-month-old’s mum was still inside.

When he heard her crying, he followed the noise and found Isis being bitten and dragged by the dog in another part of the garden. The family said the dog was being kept behind a fence at the time but had managed to get out through a hole.

Isis’ grandmother, who chose to remain anonymous, told local media that the dog had been with the family for five years. “He had never done anything like this to anyone before,” she said, according to Need To Know. “He played with everyone. He was a playful dog.” But police say it had not been fed on the day of the attack.

When officers searched the home, they failed to find any dog food and Isis was left alone for about an hour, according to the police. Her parents were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and of failure to control a dangerous animal. They were released after posting bail and the dog was taken to an animal shelter.