SAN ANTONIO – Two children belonging to a couple charged in a deadly dog attack on the West Side earlier this year will remain in the custody of their grandmother, a Bexar County judge ruled Thursday.
Christian Moreno and Abilene Schnieder will be allowed to continue having supervised weekly visits with their 12-year-old twins, as part of an agreement approved by visiting Judge Lisa Jarrett.
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Moreno did not attend Thursday’s virtual custody hearing since he was meeting with his probation officer.
The custody agreement calls for the children to remain in the care of Moreno’s mother.
Moreno and Schnieder were arrested days apart after investigators said three of the couple’s dogs escaped from their yard in the 2800 block of Depla Street and were roaming free when two of them attacked Ramon Najera, 81. Najera died from his injuries in the Feb. 24 attack.
His wife, Janie, and two others were taken to an area hospital for treatment but survived their injuries, police previously said.
Three San Antonio firefighters fought off the dogs to get to Najera and his wife, using pickaxes and pike poles to protect themselves. One fire captain was injured but is okay, San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood previously said.
San Antonio Animal Care Services later took custody of the three dogs owned by Moreno and Schnieder. They were all eventually euthanized.
Moreno and Schnieder are free on bond after being charged with injury to the elderly and dangerous dog attack resulting in death.
San Antonio police records show SAPD had been called to the couple’s home more than 100 times over a two-year span for different types of disturbances, a report of shots fired and a call involving Child Protective Services.
Tips to the police also revealed the couple had been breeding dogs and “training the dogs to be aggressive with meat.”
The next custody hearing in the case is scheduled for June 14.