Verified incident record · 2020-08-28

Woman Killed, Son Seriously Injured In Margate Dog Attack

Margate police said a family dog attacked an 84-year-old woman and her 57-year-old son inside their home. The woman died and her son was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Fatal (woman); son seriously injuredUnknownMargate, FL

Date2020-08-28

LocationMargate area; exact private address omitted by BiteDB

Victim(s)Carolyn Varanese, 84; Joseph Varanese, 57

Dogs involved1 family dog

Injury severityFatal (woman); son seriously injured

Breed attributionUnknownThe source reviewed did not provide a reliable official breed identification. BiteDB leaves breed unknown rather than inferring it from appearance.

What the record currently shows

Incident summary

Margate police said a family dog attacked an 84-year-old woman and her 57-year-old son inside their home. The woman died and her son was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Legal-status note

No final criminal charge, dangerous-dog adjudication or animal disposition was established in the source reviewed.

Media & source coverage

Video, reporting and source material

BiteDB embeds media only when a source-hosted player is suitable for embedding. News photographs and footage remain with their publishers unless reuse rights are clear.

↗Original source reportWoman Killed, Son Seriously Injured In Margate Dog AttackPublisher-hosted reporting; media remains with the source.

Source provenance

Primary record used by BiteDB

Woman Killed, Son Seriously Injured In Margate Dog AttackLocal/news reporting citing law enforcement or emergency officials · Published 2020-08-29 · Accessed 2026-08-28

The cited report documents the 2020-08-28 dog attack in Margate, FL, including the victim injuries/outcome and official response summarized here.

Open original source ↗

Data-quality notes

What BiteDB does not infer

Breed is recorded only at the provenance level shown above. Missing injury details, dog history, ownership facts or circumstances remain unknown unless a reliable source establishes them. This record may be updated as police, animal-control, medical, court or follow-up reporting becomes available.