Elderly woman killed by her pitbull terrier

An elderly woman was attacked and killed by her own dog Friday afternoon in Cave City.

Sharp County Dispatch received a 911 call around 2:16 p.m. from a woman saying a dog was attacking her mother.

The Cave City Police Department, Cave City Fire Department, Sharp County Sheriff's Department and Spring River Ambulance Service responded to the house on North Melody Lane.

Cave City Police Sergeant Brian Barnett arrived first and found 75-year-old Alice Payne dead in her living room floor with apparent bite marks all over her face, neck, and arms.

The woman's daughter said she saw the dog, a pitbull belonging to her mother, attack her. The dog was put down by officers, and then turned over to a representative with the Arkansas Department of Health for disease testing.

The woman's body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy.

The case is still being investigated by the Sharp County Sheriff's Department and Cave City Police Department.