COMPTON (CNS) – Authorities Tuesday identified a man who was found dead in the backyard of his Compton home after being mauled by one or more pit bulls he reportedly was breeding at the location.
Deputies responded to the 900 block of North Thorson Avenue, a residential area south of Rosecrans Avenue, around 7:10 a.m. Friday to a report of a man who had been mauled by several dogs, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Dominic Cooper, 35, of Compton died at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner, which listed his cause of death as “deferred.”
According to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau, the person who reported the death told deputies the man was her boyfriend.
A sheriff’s official at the scene told reporters the mauling is believed to have occurred around 7:30 or 8 p.m. Thursday, and there is surveillance video that depicts at least part of the attack. The investigator said the man appeared to have been feeding the dogs when some of them began fighting, leading to the attack on Cooper.