Dallas grandmother of 4-year-old killed in dog attack contacted CPS previously over home concerns

DALLAS - The grandmother of a little girl who died from a dog attack in Southeast Oak Cliff says she was concerned something bad would happen to her grandchildren.

Lea Freeman, 4, died in a hospital over the weekend after suffering fatal wounds from a dog attack.

Three dogs inside the home where the girl, her mom and her sister were staying were taken by animal services.

Police have not charged anyone in connection to the attack.

Lea’s grandmother says someone should be held accountable.

MORE: 4-year-old girl dies after being bitten by dog in Dallas

Dallas police say it is still an open investigation along with CPS. 

The 4-year-old’s grandmother tells FOX 4 she reached out to the Department of Family and Protective Services prior to the attack because she feared something like this would happen. 

Arica Freeman is overcome with regret Tuesday just three days after her 4-year-old granddaughter was attacked and killed by a dog.

"When you know something is going to turn out bad and there is nothing you can do to prevent it, that’s where I was. I did everything I could do. I feel like I failed Lea because that baby was so innocent," she said. "No matter what I tried, it didn’t work."

Arica says her 23-year-old daughter was staying with a friend at a home Arica feared was unsafe for her grandchildren. 

Less than a week before Lea was killed, Arica remembers their final night together where she says the 4-year-old opened up about the dogs. 

"She was scared, and she felt scared of the dogs," she recalled.

Dallas police say Saturday morning they arrived to the home and found Lea with multiple bite marks. 

Neighbor Michael Pennington called 911. He described the dogs as pit bulls. 

"I don’t even like talking about it because I can’t hold myself in," he said.

According to Arica, her daughter ran to the store Saturday morning and left the girls with the woman she was living with, who the dogs belonged to. When her daughter returned home, that’s when Arica got a call that Lea was on the way to the ER. Lea later died at the hospital. 

Dallas Animal Services seized three dogs from the home. Neighbors also tell FOX 4 they had reported the dogs multiple times, claiming they were aggressive and would run loose. 

"I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect this," Arica said. "But I knew it wouldn’t turn out good."

Arica says before Lea’s death, she contacted the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services with her concerns. 

"CPS got involved," she said.

CPS confirms to FOX 4 it had previous involvement with the family, but the details are confidential. 

Arica says her granddaughters were never removed from the home. Tuesday, she filed for custody of Lea’s younger sister who is less than 2 years old. Her third grandchild is staying with her father. 

With no arrests so far, Arica hopes someone is held accountable. 

"Should’ve been something done. Should’ve been something done," she said.

It’s unclear if the dogs will be euthanized 

Also, Dallas Animal Services wouldn’t confirm how many dogs were involved in the attack.