Coroner's Account Details More Than 600 Wounds and Raises Suspicions That Victim Was Left Unattended
For Immediate Release:
February 28, 2011
Contact:
Ashley Gonzalez 757-622-7382
Elyria, Ohio — Following the release of the coroner's report showing that Brent Kandra sustained at least 658 puncture and incise wounds, lacerations, abrasions, and contusions, PETA is calling for homicide charges to be filed without delay in the case. PETA points out that, according to the coroner's report, the victim suffered from "multiple blunt impacts and sharp force injuries to the head, torso, and extremities" as well as injuries to his skin, tissues, bones, veins, and organs; internal bleeding; a laceration to the left brachial artery; two broken ribs; a puncture wound to his heart; and lacerations to his spleen, left kidney, and left lung—facts that do not match former bear wrestler Sam Mazzola's statement to the police that he was with the young man at the time of the incident and immediately rescued him.
Now in possession of the newly released report, PETA today petitioned Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will and Sheriff Phil Stammitti to file charges of reckless homicide against Sam Mazzola, the notorious animal exhibitor responsible for the bear who attacked and killed Brent Kandra on August 19.
"The autopsy report reads like the script of a horror film," says PETA Director Delcianna Winders. "The evidence suggests that the bear played with the young man's body like a rag doll for a prolonged period of time without any intervention."
Mazzola regularly allowed Kandra to come into direct physical contact with the unrestrained 400- to 500-pound bear, who had a history of aggression, thereby ignoring the known risk of death to him—a violation of Ohio's reckless homicide statute. Mazzola's animal exhibitor's license was permanently revoked in 2009 at PETA's urging, and he is currently on probation after being convicted in federal court for subsequently exhibiting animals without a license.
PETA has also asked Ohio Gov. John Kasich to immediately enforce a ban on exotic animals that was put in place by his predecessor and is calling on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to exercise its authority to declare emergency regulations to prohibit the keeping of exotic animals.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.