Elderly Ohio woman, 75, mauled to death and partially eaten by neighbor’s pigs on Christmas: police

An elderly Ohio woman is dead after she was attacked — and partially eaten — by her neighbor’s pigs in a horrifying Christmas day tragedy, according to police.

Rebecca Westergaard, 75, was found dead on the property of her Pataskala home on the holiday afternoon after her niece called in a welfare check, Pataskala police said, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

Westergaard — who lived alone — was due to pick up the niece that morning but never showed.

The pigs came from a neighbor’s property, police confirmed, and mauled and killed the elderly woman. Getty Images

When police arrived at the home, they found Westergaard’s body — having been apparently mauled and killed by a pair of swine that investigators say roamed onto the property.

Pataskala Police Chief Bruce Brooks called the incident a “horrible, horrible situation,” but told the Dispatch his office couldn’t reveal more about the case while its investigation was underway.

An autopsy is underway to determine Westergaard’s cause of death, Brooks added, according to the local newspaper.

The pigs involved belonged to a neighbor, he confirmed, but said it was still unclear whether their owner would face any criminal charges.

Their owner has not been named.

Pataskala City Councilwoman Mary Hite, who owns a meat market just a quarter-mile from Westergaard’s house, told the Dispatch the animals were not hers.

It also remains unclear what will become of the pigs after the alleged attack.

When a pet dog kills someone in Ohio the animal is euthanized, but the state’s law is less clear about how to handle vicious behavior from farm animals.

“If it was a pit bull or a Rottweiler, or name any of the other 15 dogs that are deemed semi-aggressive, then we would know the answer right away,” Brooks said.

“But being farm animals, it’s just not something we’ve ever dealt with here.”