1-year-old Aurora girl dies in dog attack at July 4th party in Joliet

A baby girl from Aurora died from dog bites early Sunday after a dog got loose in a Joliet home.

The parents of 17-month-old Marley Wilander put her in a playpen in an upstairs room of a friend’s house while they attended a Fourth of July party, according to a statement from Joliet police.

Sometime during the night, two pit bull mix dogs got out of the basement of the home in the 1800 block of Cumberland Drive, police said. About 1:30 a.m. July 5, the homeowner heard noise upstairs and found one of the dogs biting the baby.

The homeowner separated the dog from the child, who had “bite marks throughout her body,” and called 911, police said.

She was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet where she died, the Will County coroner’s office said. Preliminary autopsy results show she died from the dog attack.

The dog was turned over to Joliet Township Animal Control, police said.

No charges have been filed.