Bend woman indicted on manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide charges in fatal dog mauling

$100,000 warrant issued for arrest of Jessica Rae Charity

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Bend woman, the owner of three dogs that fatally mauled a man at a Juniper Ridge transient camp in July, has been indicted by a Deschutes County grand jury on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, and a $100,000 warrant for her arrest has been issued.

The second-degree manslaughter charge in the two-count indictment, returned Thursday and filed Friday morning, alleges Jessica Rae Charity, 38, “unlawfully and recklessly” caused the death of Joseph Taylor Keeton, 56.

Nearly a dozen people testified in person or by video before the grand jury, including three Deschutes County sheriff’s office detectives, a sergeant and a deputy.

Deputies were dispatched in the early morning of Wednesday, July 19 to an unknown problem in the area north of Bend commonly referred to as Dirt World, Sergeant Jason Wall said at the time.

Deputies learned Keeton had been attacked by one or more of the dogs and lost a substantial amount of blood, Wall said. Deputies began life-saving measures and Bend Fire medics took Keeton to St. Charles Bend, where he died of his injuries.

The sergeant said investigators determined up to three pit bull/mastiff-mix dogs may have been responsible.

Charity, the owner of the three dogs, assisted deputies in placing them in crates and was cooperating in the investigation, Wall said. The dogs were placed in quarantine at BrightSide Animal Center in Redmond.

Three grieving daughters of Keeton told NewsChannel 21 after holding a memorial service in Silverton that their father was an intelligent, passionate man whose life began to unravel when he became addicted to prescription drugs he received after breaking his ankle.