A tragic case of neglect has led to murder charges against an Oklahoma City couple after their two-year-old daughter was mauled to death by a starved family pit bull that had been locked in her bedroom.
A Fatal Night and Previous Warnings
Police responded to the family home around 11:30 pm on November 18 after 24-year-old Darci Lambert called emergency services to report her daughter, Locklynn McGuire, had stopped breathing. Officers discovered the toddler dead in her bedroom with injuries consistent with a dog attack.
Oklahoma City Animal Welfare removed four dogs from the property, three of which showed signs of malnourishment. The attacking dog, described as a black pit bull with visible ribs and hip bones, was among them.
Tragically, this wasn't the first time Locklynn had been attacked by the same animal. According to an affidavit, the girl required treatment at Oklahoma University Children's Hospital after being bitten by the dog on November 6. Despite Oklahoma Human Services conducting an investigation following that incident, neither the child nor the dangerous dog were removed from the home.
Parental Negligence and System Failure
The affidavit reveals disturbing details about the circumstances leading to Locklynn's death. Her father, 34-year-old Jordan McGuire, put her to bed around 7:30 pm on November 18 before taking sleep medication. He claimed to have checked on her at 8:30 pm and found her sleeping next to the pit bull.
The dog was routinely confined to the child's bedroom because it fought with the family's other three dogs. Disturbingly, the room featured toddler locks that prevented Locklynn from leaving, effectively trapping her with the dangerous animal.
Lambert returned from work at 10:30 pm but didn't check on her daughter immediately. She only discovered the horrific scene after hearing heavy breathing from the room. The Free Press reported she told first responders: "My daughter got ate by the pit."
Aftermath and Demands for Accountability
Both parents were arrested on November 21 and charged with second-degree murder. They remain in Oklahoma County Detention Center with bonds set at $1 million each.
The case has raised serious questions about systemic failures. Oklahoma State Representative JJ Humphrey expressed bewilderment that neither the child nor the dogs were removed after the initial attack. "You got to remove the harm, either remove the kid or remove the harm. Pretty simple to do," Humphrey told Fox25. "Absolutely if [OKDHS] did their job, you would not have a death here. You'd have a live baby."
Oklahoma Human Services issued a statement calling the loss of any child's life "heartbreaking" and confirming their cooperation with investigating agencies. The affidavit confirms the parents continued locking the dog in Locklynn's room despite the November 6 incident, with police and animal welfare authorities never being notified about the earlier attack.
