PALL MALL — A Middle Tennessee woman is dead after authorities say her neighbor's six German Shepherds mauled her while she worked in her backyard.

Bessie "Jill" Brown Peterson, 88, died after being attacked by the pack of dogs at her Evans Lane home in Pall Mall, a rural community about 150 miles northeast of Nashville.

According to Bryant C. Dunaway, District Attorney General for the 13th Judicial District, Peterson was outside in her yard cleaning out a ditch that had overflowed when she was mauled.

After the brutal attack, she was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville where she died on Feb. 26.

Authorities have not released the name of the man who owns the dogs, citing the pending investigation.

As of Wednesday, Dunaway said, no charges had been filed in her death.

The case, Dunaway said, remains under investigation by his office, which handles criminal cases in seven Middle Tennessee counties including Pickett County where Peterson was mauled.

"It’s a sad case," Dunaway said Wednesday. "She was 88 years old, and it was a pack of six dogs. The owner had been asked several times by law enforcement to contain them."

All six German Shepherds were euthanized after the attack, Dunaway said.

Dunaway said the Pickett County grand jury will convene next month and will determine whether a homicide charge is filed against the owner.

Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

