7-year-old killed by neighbor’s pit bull remembered as a ‘bright soul’

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB/Gray News) – A Louisiana community is mourning the death of a 7-year-old girl who died after being viciously attacked by an unrestrained pit bull.

Sadie Davila is being remembered as a bright soul who had a big heart.

Vanessa Bloss, principal of Woodlawn Elementary, said ever since the day Sadie’s grandmother came to register her for school, Sadie “just had a light inside of her that could not be contained.”

“She has these huge, huge brown doe eyes that just make you smile whenever you see her,” Bloss said.

When Bloss heard how Sadie was killed on Friday evening, it devastated her.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say besides it’s just a heartbreak... it’s the fact that it was so abrupt and so senseless that I think that we haven’t had... we still are processing it, and we’re still trying to figure out how to best move forward,” she said.

According to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office, Sadie was attacked by a pit bull Friday night while she was playing outside of a relative’s home.

Authorities said a relative attempted to intervene, but the dog continued to attack.

Sadie was able to be taken to the hospital but died from her injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.

Gracie Fegucht was Sadie’s music and drama teacher for two years. She is in disbelief over Sadie’s death.

“It felt like I could feel my heart plunge, it felt like just a plunge my stomach when I just immediately saw her little face,” Fegucht said.

School leaders are now tasked with honoring one of their beloved students while mourning her death.

“This morning, we were just trying to process, and so I sent an email out to the staff and I said the first part of us grieving is putting down and sharing what we know about her,” Bloss said.

Several of the educators at Woodlawn Elementary sent in pages and pages, expressing how special Sadie was.

“In her short seven years, she did so much. And so rather than thinking about the things that she didn’t do or didn’t get to do, I’m thinking about the things she did do and who she was,” Fegucht said.

Erick Lopez, 20, is now facing a charge of negligent homicide in Sadie’s death.

Arrest documents show that the suspect lives nearby to where the attack took place and that there was no fence or other barrier keeping the dog confined to the owner’s home.

Authorities say they are now in possession of the dog.

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