dog attack
A 76-year-old Crawford County man found dead last month outside his house with bite marks on his body is now thought to have died in a dog attack, the sheriff said Thursday.

Lee Alvin Becham, whose body was discovered Feb. 23 outside his residence in the 1900 block of Marshall Mill Road south of Lizella, is believed to have been attacked by three dogs, Sheriff Lewis Walker said in a statement.

"The preliminary autopsy results for Lee Alvin Becham was traumatic injuries due to dog attack," the statement said. "Three dogs that are suspected in this case have been removed from their owners."


Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to Becham's house the Sunday evening his body was found after they received a call about an unresponsive person lying in the yard.

The sheriff said by phone on Thursday that investigators were still gathering evidence to test.

"It's tough for the (Becham) family to lose a loved one like this," Walker said.