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Mexico City residents call prosecutors' dog-killing theory improbable, despite evidence

Associated Press
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One of the dogs that was caught near the site of four fatal maulings sits inside a cage at a city dog pound in Mexico City,Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Authorities have captured dozens of dogs near the scene of the attacks in the capital's poor Iztapalapa district, but rather than calm residents, photos of the forlorn dogs brought a wave of sympathy for the animals, doubts about their involvement in the killings and debate about government handling of the stray dog problem. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) (The Associated Press)

One of the dogs that was caught near the site of four fatal maulings rests inside a cage at a city dog pound in Mexico City, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Authorities have captured dozens of dogs near the scene of the attacks in the capital's poor Iztapalapa district, but rather than calm residents, photos of the forlorn dogs brought a wave of sympathy for the animals, doubts about their involvement in the killings and debate about government handling of the stray dog problem. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) (The Associated Press)

One of the dogs that was caught near the site of four fatal maulings sits inside a cage at a city dog pound in Mexico City,Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. Authorities have captured dozens of dogs near the scene of the attacks in the capital's poor Iztapalapa district, but rather than calm residents, photos of the forlorn dogs brought a wave of sympathy for the animals, doubts about their involvement in the killings and debate about government handling of the stray dog problem. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) (The Associated Press)

In a country beset by the most gruesome forms of drug violence, many Mexico City residents are resisting prosecutors' theory that stray dogs killed as many as five people in a hilltop park.

It is easier for victims' relatives like Ana Maria Martinez to believe crazed killers tortured and murdered her brother and left his body to be chewed by dogs.

Animal rights activists are calling for protests, claiming the bunch of innocuous-looking strays rounded up so far are being framed.

But experts said Thursday it is quite possible that those dogs, or others, turned into killers. The refusal to blame the dogs may stem from misconceptions about dog attacks.