Updated

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.