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Father and son charged with manslaughter in fatal Kansas City dog attack
By Eleanor Nash

A father and son were charged Friday in connection to the November dog attack in south Kansas City that killed one person and severely injured another.

John Thibeaux I and John Thibeaux II were taken into custody Thursday with one count of first degree involuntary manslaughter and one count of second degree assault each. Both are being held with a $100,000 bond.

The two Kansas City men allegedly caused the death of Chris Culbertson and serious physical injury “by owning or harboring dogs, known by the defendants to be aggressive, and failing to adequately control said dogs,” according to charging documents.

Melesa Johnson, the Jackson County prosecutor, said in a Friday statement, “Owning animals comes the responsibility of properly securing them. When owners neglect their duty to maintain adequate fencing or ignore warning signs of aggression, they put innocent lives at risk and could face serious criminal charges.”

The men, known as John Thibeaux Sr. and Jr., owned the dogs that attacked Culbertson as he was bicycling through the Marlborough East neighborhood Nov. 2, 2024, according to court documents. Over 23 minutes, the pack of dogs bit Culbertson 300 times.

Holly Lane, a former neighbor who was severely injured attempting to intervene, said in a text message Thursday, “I have a smile on my face because we have gotten justice for Chris.”

“No more crying at the spot of his attack in my front yard because they are finally getting charged,” Lane wrote.

The Culbertson family lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to a press release from the prosecutor’s office, the younger Thibeaux ran a dog breeding business and advertised puppies for $200 on social media. An animal control officer found nine puppies at his house the day after the arrest, according to charging documents.

Months before the fatal attack, Thibeaux Jr. allegedly had to get sutures after one of his dogs bit him as he was attempting to break up a dog fight.

Neighbors told detectives that the men’s dogs regularly escaped the property and previously killed multiple chickens and attacked a cat and a small dog, documents show. One residents said she only allowed her children to play on the porch, so she could get them inside if she saw Thibeaux’s dogs coming.

In February, KCPD took the younger Thibeaux into custody for questioning about the case and later released him.

The Star had previously contacted Thibeaux Jr., who declined repeated requests for comment.

In late March, a gray pit bull was seen tied to a car engine at the younger Thibeaux’s residence, which had 10 vehicles and an RV on the property. The house on the property is set to be demolished by the city after it burned down in late December, Michael Hopkins, a spokesperson for the Kansas City Fire Department, said in January.

Culbertson’s death prompted scrutiny of KC Pet Project, city’s animal control contractor at the time, which led to the nonprofit losing the municipal contract in March.

Neighbor Holly Lane attempted to intervene in the attack and was injured by the dogs. A lawsuit she filed against KC Pet Project alleges the nonprofit mishandled a series of complaints about dogs terrorizing a south Kansas City neighborhood.

People who live nearby were scared of the dogs, which ran loose at times and killed chickens that some neighbor raised in their yards.

Natalie Martinez feared for her safety and that of her kids, she told The Star last month, She often kept a club of some kind handy to beat them off, if necessary.

“One day, we were outside, and they came, so we raced inside.” Martinez said. Later, they came and killed some of her chickens, she said.

It was shortly after that incident, she said that the fatal attack on Culbertson occurred.

“They got out and got my chickens and then that happened,” she said.

With the dogs gone, the birds are now free to leave their coop and roam in her yard, which is about a block south of the property where the dogs lived.

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