Owners of Dogs that Killed Livonia Jogger Face Life in Prison

The two owners of a pair of exotic Cane Corso dogs that mauled and killed a Livonia jogger last week have been arraigned on second-degree murder charges and are in custody on $500,000 bond each.

Prosecutors asked for $1 million bond each for Albania national Valbona Lacaj, 44, and her Italian husband, Sebastiano Quagliata, 45, arguing the pair pose a flight risk, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Immigration officials have been trying to deport the pair for nearly a decade, saying they are in the country illegally.

They were arraigned before Lapeer County Magistrate Michael Delling Friday morning. If convicted of the second-degree murder charges, they could face life in prison. They’re also charged with harboring dangerous animals, a 15-year-felony.

Their Cane Corso dogs attacked and killed Craig Sytsma, 46, as he jogged past the couple’s Metamora home on July 23. It was the third attack by the large Italian dogs – mastiff-type dogs the American Kennel Club describes as “noble, majestic and powerful in presence “ – since 2012.

The dogs, which reportedly have an aggressive history, were unattended and freely roaming the neighborhood when they attacked Sytsma.

A witness told police that he yelled at the dogs as they mauled Sytsma, and when they didn’t respond, he went to the house to get a gun and fired a warning shot, which deterred them only temporarily.

Prosecutors want the dogs to be euthanized, but a hearing on that matter – originally scheduled for Friday afternoon – has been adjourned.

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PHOTO: A hearing on the destruction of two Cane Corso dogs, bred to hunt wild boar in their native Italy, has been adjourned until more evidence can be gathered. (Screenshot: WJBK, Channel 2)