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A 22-year-old Glen Allen woman was mauled to death in what the Goochland County sheriff described as a “grisly” scene.

Bethany Lynn Stephens’ body was discovered by Goochland deputies about 8:20 p.m. Thursday in a wooded area near the 2200 block of Manakin Road.

“(Her body) was being guarded by two very large, brindle-colored pit bull dogs,” Sheriff James L. Agnew said during a news conference Friday.

Agnew said the dogs were Stephens’ and that he suspected they had been bred for fighting.

Initial reports from the medical examiner’s office said Stephens — whom Agnew described as petite, 5-foot-1 and 125 pounds — had a cause of death “consistent with being mauled by these dogs.” She had defensive wounds on her hands and arms, and it appeared that she was alive when the animals attacked.

“The first traumatic injury to her was to her throat and face,” Agnew said, reading from the initial autopsy results. “It appears she was taken to the ground, lost consciousness, and the dogs then mauled her to death.”

It was not a homicide, Agnew said.