Housekeeper testifies on dog attack at Chris Brown mansion

A former housekeeper for singer Chris Brown wept on the witness stand this week as she described being mauled by a security dog at his Los Angeles mansion nearly five years ago, an attack she said left her with severe injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. Maria Avila testified in Los Angeles Superior Court that the incident, which occurred in December 2020, has permanently altered her life.

Avila told jurors she was taking out trash at Brown's Tarzana property when a large dog, identified as a Central Asian Ovcharka named Hades, attacked her without warning. She said she had only worked at the home a handful of times and had never been warned about dogs on the premises. "I thought I was going to die," Avila testified, describing how the animal first targeted her face before grabbing her arm and dragging her across the driveway.

The injuries were extensive. Avila said surgeons harvested skin from her abdomen to graft onto her arm, a procedure that left her unable to bend at the waist during a lengthy recovery. Lacerations on her face required dozens of sutures, and she spent five days hospitalized alone due to pandemic visitor restrictions. She testified that she now...