Pit bulls kill two more babies & a 43-year-old man in first days of April

More pit bull fatalities in 93 days than total dog attack fatalities in any year before 2009

BAYTOWN, Texas;  BROWNSTOWN, Indiana;  TUCSON, Arizona––Two pit bull attacks on infants and one on a 43-year-old man during the first four days of April 2025 raised the U.S. dog attack death toll for the year to 21,  19 of them by pit bulls,  one by two Cane Corsos,  and one unwitnessed by dogs unknown.

To put that into context,  total U.S. dog attacks in a full year did not exceed 14 until 2009.

The two fatal pit bull attacks on infants were the third in three weeks,  following the March 14,  2025 pit bull mauling death of six-month-old Ember Rene Southard in Alabaster,  Alabama.

(See Three generations of pit bull advocacy culminate in death of a baby.)

“No arrests,  no charges”

A balloon release was scheduled for the evening of April 5,  2025 in Baytown,  Texas,  and a candlelight vigil on April 9,  2025,  in remembrance of “Baby Yomi,”  short for K’yomi Kapri Temple,  six-month-old daughter of Amaya Joi Sanchez,  19,  and Jakyren Tileigh Temple,  22.

“At this time, no arrests have been made, and no charges have been filed , according to police. This case remains under investigation,”  reported Matt Hollis for the Baytown Sun.

“Jason Calder,  City of Baytown spokesman,  said a seizure warrant was issued at the scene that allowed Animal Control staff to take custody of the two pit bull mixed dogs” found at the scene.

Said Calder,  “One was identified as the attack animal,  and the other one was located in a kennel and did not appear to be involved.

“Red-collared pit bull mix”

“Calder confirmed that both dogs are male pit bull mixes,”  Hollis continued.  He said the dog responsible for the attack was a red-collared pit bull mix,  approximately one year old.”

Added KPRC-2 reporter Corley Peel,  “One neighbor,  who asked to remain anonymous,  said she called 911 after the baby’s mother knocked on her door seeking help.

“She knocked on my door, baby in hand. Blood was everywhere,”  the witness told Peel.  “The mother was just devastated.

“The baby had a wound on the top of the head,  and looked lifeless.  Her color was not right. She was a grayish color,” he said.

The mother “was walking out,  and she handed her baby to the paramedics.  She thought her baby was alive.”

Father covered his head,  with reason

The father,  Jakyren Tileigh Temple,  covered his head with his hoodie as television cameras converged on the scene.

Galveston County Justice Court records show that Jakyren Tileigh Temple was on March 8,  2023 evicted and assessed back rent plus court costs at a previous address.

On December 4,  2023,  Jakyren Tileigh Temple was booked for both “Robbery with firearm” and “theft from person.”

On December 17,  2024,  a “Capias warrant” was issued for Jakyren Tileigh Temple,  after he failed to appear in court three times.

Facebook friend of notorious pit bull breeders

Facebook postings by Jakyren Tileigh Temple indicate meanwhile that he had become a Facebook friend or follower of many of notorious pit bull breeders,  several of them convicted of dogfighting and related offenses.

Jakyren Tileigh Temple also expressed interest in breeding his own pit bull.   Neighbors indicated that he and Amaya Joi Sanchez had only recently acquired the pit bulls impounded after the death of K’yomi Kapri Temple,  but had others earlier.

K’yomi Kapri Temple was fatally attacked 3.3 miles south of where four-year-old Drué Parker was killed by four pit bulls at his aunt’s Baytown home on February 23,  2022.

“Baby’s cry triggered the female dog”

Two days later,  on April 3,  2025,  two-month-old Zaelynn Elizabeth Grove,  daughter of Dakota Grove,  22,  and Paitlyn Elizabeth Dolan Grove,  24,  was killed by a pit bull shortly after noon.

Family acquaintances in social media postings said,  “The dog lived at the house,”  belonged to the baby’s grandfather,  and “was locked up in a separate room from the baby.

“The baby’s cry just triggered the female dog and she busted out,”  another acquaintance said.

Village of Brownstone has history of pit bull attacks

A much more detailed account posted under two different names indicated that the baby and other small children in the family were asleep while Paitlyn Grove worked in her kitchen.  The baby awakened with a cry,  the pit bull detonated as Paitlyn Grove responded,  and the pit bull reached the baby first.

This was not a loose dog,  but the Village of Brownstown,  with barely 3,000 residents and a history of pit bull attacks,  as recently as March 20,  2025 warned residents that “There has been an abundance of loose dogs running around Brownstown. We are working with animal control and the police to keep it under control.”

Emergency Brownstown town council meetings in August 2018 and August 2024 voted to euthanize pit bulls due to repeated biting incidents and attacks on other dogs.

Playing games with pit bull names

Between the two attacks on babies,  Kevin Reguul,  43,  a native of Palau,  on April 2,  2025 died in Pima County,  Arizona,  from a mauling on March 30,  2025 by dogs identified by neighbor Rosalinda Rodriguez as two pit bulls,  two huskies,  and a German shepherd.

Mary Coleman of KOLD television in Tucson reported that the dogs were officially identified by the Pima County Animal Care Center as three German shepherd mixes,  a Labrador mix,  and a St. Bernard mix,  but the Pima County Animal Care Center has a history of allegedly mislabeling pit bulls to try to get them adopted.

(See $2.5 million hiring of “shelter expert” Kristin Hassen brings taxpayer lawsuit.)

Previous attacks

According to a media release from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department,  “On Sunday, March 30, 2025,  deputies located 43-year-old Kevin Renguul lying in the roadway, suffering from severe injuries across his body.  Deputies immediately administered life-saving measures until medical personnel arrived on scene and assumed care.  Mr. Renguul was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

“The preliminary investigation revealed that Mr. Renguul was attacked by approximately five canines who had escaped from a nearby property.  The dogs were reportedly under the care of 60-year-old Martin Martinez,  who housed them on his property.

“Detectives discovered that the canines had a history of being aggressive and had previously attacked a neighbor.  Following the initial investigation,   Mr. Martinez was arrested and initially charged with felony endangerment and felony assault by a vicious animal.

Manslaughter charge

“An additional charge of manslaughter has since been filed against Mr. Martinez.  He remains in custody.  An animal control officer from Pima Animal Care Center responded to the scene and took possession of all five canines involved in the incident,”  plus a mastiff mix,  believed to have not been involved in the fatal attack.

Reported  Michael Cooper and Katherine Patterson of KOLD,  “According to court documents, Renguul needed 15 blood transfusions and went through two surgeries before passing away.  He had to be intubated and was hooked up to machines when his lung and kidney functions declined.”

“The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said it had three previous reports of Martinez’s dogs biting people,”  plus eight additional reports of people getting attacked by his animals.

“In some of the cases,  neighbors said their pets were killed or injured,”  Cooper and Patterson said.

Court documents indicate that Martinez has done prison time for multiple offenses,  and was on probation when Renguul was killed.

Pit bulls kill New Zealand four-year-old

The fatal attack on Renguul came two days after Timothy Tu’uaki Rolleston-Bryan,  4, was killed in Katikati in the Bay of Plenty,  New Zealand,  by a pack including dogs identified by local council general manager of regulatory services as “an American bulldog cross,  border collie/mastiff cross, and Staffordshire bull terrier/border collie cross,”  all of them male.

At least two of the three and possibly all three appear to have actually been pit bulls.

“Curtis said none of the breeds were classified as menacing under the Dog Control Act,”  reported Raphael Franks for the New Zealand Herald.

Added Franks,  “Dog Safe Workplace,”  a dog training organization,  “said it was seeing reported dog incidents escalating with 29,233 dog incidents reported to animal care and control last year,  a 46% increase since 2015.

“But Dog Safe Workplace founder and director Jo Clough reckoned the real number was much higher.  Less than 20% of dog bites were reported,  she said.

“Clough said she would also like to see a mandatory dog bite reporting system introduced to get a clearer picture on how many dog bite incidents there were,”  Franks finished.

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