A former housekeeper who says she was brutally mauled by Chris Brown‘s 200-pound dog is now locked in a pretrial battle over one crucial piece of evidence: the graphic injury photos she wants a jury to see. The singer is trying to block them.
Maria Avila sued the R&B star in 2021, claiming his Caucasian Shepherd named Hades attacked her while she was taking out the trash at his Los Angeles home in December 2020. Trial is set for June 15, where she seeks $90 million in damages for what she describes as life-altering injuries.
Avila is fighting back against Brown’s effort to keep her horrific injury photos out of the courtroom. Her legal argument is simple: the images show the severity of her pain, suffering, and emotional distress. Without them, she says, proving her damages becomes nearly impossible.
The attack itself was devastating. According to court filings, the dog began ripping off large chunks of her skin from her face and arms as she screamed for help. She now suffers from permanent facial disfigurement, scarring, nerve damage, and vision loss. Emergency surgery saved her life but could not undo the damage.
Brown has given a very different account of that day. In deposition testimony, he said he was upstairs when he heard Hades growling. He went down and found Avila lying face down in the driveway. He claims he bent down to check if she was breathing, saw her chest moving, then secured the dogs and told security to call 911.
When asked if he felt bad about leaving, Brown answered: “I’m not bad, I’m not feeling bad about leaving the house, more concerned about her, making sure she was okay.” He says his manager ordered him to leave once paramedics were on the way.
A second legal fight is unfolding alongside the photo dispute. Brown is asking the judge to ban any mention of his 2009 felony assault of Rihanna during the trial. His lawyers argue the domestic violence case from more than a decade ago would unfairly prejudice the jury.
Avila’s attorneys are pushing back, calling Brown’s request “overbroad, premature, and legally incorrect.” They say they have no plan to use his past to smear his character, but reserve the right to bring it up if Brown or his witnesses portray him as nonviolent or non-threatening, or if they attack her credibility based on her emotional response to the attack.
After the attack, the dog was driven to Humboldt County, where records show it was euthanized the day before Christmas due to its aggressive nature. Brown testified he had no role in that decision.
A judge will hear final arguments on what evidence can be presented at a hearing on June 5. Trial begins ten days later. For Avila, showing those photos may be the only way to make a jury understand what 200 pounds of teeth and fury did to her face, and why she believes Brown should be held responsible.
