Wife killed by new family dog

A man returned home to find his wife had been killed by the family dog.

The Chicago Tribune reported Dawn Brown, 44, a volunteer firefighter in Big Rock, Illinois, was home alone with her new mastiff and her two other dogs, a boxer and pit bull mix.

The mastiff, which the couple had only adopted a week ago, attacked her, on Monday, and her body was discovered when her husband, Bob, returned home from work, police said.

An autopsy found Brown died from injuries caused by one of her dogs, a mastiff, said Kane County Sheriff’s police Lt. Pat Gengler.

Gengler said police still are trying to determine what prompted the attack and if the dog showed previous violent behavior.

The Daily Mail reported the couple had taken in the mastiff a week ago from a family member who did not want it anymore, Gengler said.

"It was an extremely muscular-looking dog with a large head," Gengler told the newspaper.

"It looked big, strong."

He said the previous owners had given the dog to the Browns because they could not look after it anymore. There was no suggestion it had been aggressive with them.

He told CBS News, Brown's body bore severe wounds, including bites to the neck.

“A lot of it, I think, had to do with the size of the dog,” Gengler said.

All three dogs were taken into the custody of animal control authorities.