Neighbor hurled boy down 'large ravine' after his unleashed dogs mauled him to death while he was biking to buddy's house: AG

A Kansas antheral is charged with murder aft his unleashed dogs — mixed mastiff and pit bull breeds — allegedly mauled a 13-year-old neighbor to death, starring him to battalion the lad up and dump his ravaged assemblage "down a ample ravine."

Damon Leonard, 47, was charged with second-degree murder and other charges related to the vicious sidesplitting of Airen Andula, a Linn County seventh grader who lived down the thoroughfare from Leonard and was biking to his buddy's house, according to The Kansas City Star.

Airen's household told The Star that the lad was connected his mode to fto his friend's dogs and chickens retired successful December 2025 erstwhile Leonard's canines, which were known to tally free, attacked him conscionable days earlier Christmas.

After the lad was mauled to death, Leonard packed up Airen's assemblage and past hurled it "down a ample ravine successful a creek bed" astir 30 miles distant successful Missouri, according to an apprehension affidavit.

For that, the section begetter was convicted successful Missouri of abandonment of a corpse and sentenced to 4 years successful situation past week. He was charged this week by the Kansas Attorney General's Office with murder, involuntary manslaughter, interference with instrumentality enforcement, transgression desecration by unauthorized power of a dormant body, and permitting a unsafe carnal to beryllium astatine large.

"I … could person overlooked, you know, the canine attack," Jody Andula, Airen's mother, told The Star successful January. "That's conscionable a freak accident, but I can't forgive him for what helium did trying to fell my kid from america erstwhile we were each looking for him. Playing on similar helium didn't cognize wherever helium was astatine erstwhile helium did cognize — that's what I can't accept."

Andula said it was expected to instrumentality Airen conscionable 5 minutes to thrust to his friend's location to thin to their pets — chickens, a favored rooster and dogs — portion his household was away, and past different 5 minutes to thrust back.

Airen was biking connected a gravel way erstwhile Leonard's dogs allegedly attacked him.

"I mean, arsenic a parent, you can't ideate different genitor doing [that], fto unsocial watching it, and not helping a child," said Ashlyn Clough, parent of Airen's champion person whom Airen was helping out. "I don't cognize what was going done his head. It conscionable doesn't marque consciousness wherefore helium didn't telephone 911. Maybe helium panicked and helium was scared. But adjacent if you were panicked and were scared, you could person astatine slightest called."