Get notified by email when this case is updated.
Written by: A. Smith
Published July 17, 2025 @ 9:14 AM ET
TROUP COUNTY, Ga. – LaGrange police are searching for a man wanted in connection with a deadly dog attack that killed a 60-year-old woman last week.
Officers responded around 11:11 a.m. Friday to the intersection of Swanson and Juniper streets, where they found Theresa Patterson being mauled by two large dogs in the roadway. Police were able to stop the attack and began first aid until paramedics arrived. Patterson was taken to Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center, where she died from her injuries.
On Tuesday, police announced arrest warrants had been issued for Derrick Parker on charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct, and dog running at large. Investigators said they have searched multiple known locations in LaGrange and north Georgia but have not located him.
The dogs involved in the attack were identified by their owners as a brown pit bull and a black Cane Corso. Neighbors told Channel 2 Action News that police shot and killed one of the dogs at the scene to stop the mauling. The Cane Corso was later taken into custody by authorities. The owners shared Ring video that they say shows the Cane Corso in front of their home during the attack.
One neighbor told the station he had been attacked by the same dogs earlier in the week.
Patterson was described as “very outspoken” and “witty,” someone who “would help anybody, even when she needed it herself” by family and friends.
The case remains under investigation by LaGrange police and the Criminal Investigations Division. The Troup County Coroner said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation will conduct an autopsy.
Anyone with information on Parker’s whereabouts is asked to call Detective Blane at (706) 883-2623, Troup County Crime Stoppers at (706) 812-1000, or submit an anonymous tip through Tip411.