Woman cleared of dog attack death

Source: BBC News

A woman accused over a fatal dog attack on her granddaughter has been found not guilty of her manslaughter.

Ellie Lawrenson, five, was fatally mauled by a pit bull terrier at Jackie Simpson's home in Knowles House Avenue, St Helens, on New Year's Day.

Ms Simpson, 45, allowed the dog into the house, the jury at Liverpool Crown Court was told.

She denied manslaughter through gross negligence and was found not guilty by the jury on Tuesday.

Ellie suffered 72 injuries in the prolonged attack by her uncle Kiel Simpson's pit bull, Reuben.

The dog, which had been involved in two other attacks, locked its jaws around the child's throat and shook her.

Ellie suffered severe head and neck injuries

Kiel Simpson, 24, was jailed for eight weeks at Liverpool Magistrates' Court in May after admitting owning a dog banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

During the trial, the prosecution said Ms Simpson, who had drunk two bottles of wine and smoked 10 cannabis joints prior to the attack, had broken a family rule by letting Reuben into the house while Ellie was there.

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Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6987128.stm

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Additional story on incident

and smoked 10 cannabis joints prior to the attack

Just prior to the attack? How quickly can someone smoke TEN joints? Was she hotboxing them?



Poor kid.

Let me get this straight.

A guy owned a dog that had been involved in 2 other attacks. A woman on drugs and drunk lets that dog inside and it kills a child.

Why isn't the idiot that owned a dangerous dog in jail and why isn't this woman getting a lethal injection for STUIPDITY?? Heroine, pot, wine, yeah folks, this is the kind of moronic behavior you get out of drug addicts and drunks.

Come on folks, if you have a dog that has been involved in an attack on a human being, noting that it's a breed that are famous for these kinds of attacks.. KILL THE DAMN THING.

The owner should be jailed for having a dangerous dog that he KNEW was dangerous if what is written in this article is true.

he was jailed for 8 weeks, but this was not america and sentences in the u.k. do not tend to be so draconian

the grandmother obviously is a severe substance abuser but the jury ruled that she had no reason to know that the dog was not allowed in the house, this woman if you read the piece has been on heroin since the 1980s and probably doesn't have a clue what is going on around her

should you be found guilty of manslaughter for letting your son's dog into the house? i dunno, i wasn't there, but could be the jury made the right call

she's got to live with this forever, as does the father, who KNEW the dog was vicious and had attacked two others

if he only gets 8 weeks, it's hard to give granny more

no such breed recognized by akc, ikc, etc as a pit bull. just sayin'.

am staff is one. not the only one. in fact, most dogs bred for fighting are not papered at all.
again- there is not breed of dog that is a pit bull. even if you hang a terrier on the end. no recognized breed. period.

Sometime during the nineteenth century, dog fanciers in England, Ireland, and Scotland began to experiment with crosses between Bulldogs and Terriers, looking for a dog that combined the gameness of the terrier with the strength and athleticism of the Bulldog. The result was a dog that embodied all of the virtues attributed to great warriors: strength, indomitable courage, and gentleness with loved ones. Immigrants brought these bull and terrier crosses to the United States. The American Pit Bull Terrier's many talents did not go unnoticed by farmers and ranchers who used their APBTs for protection, as catch dogs for semi-wild cattle and hogs, to hunt, to drive livestock, and as family companions. Today, the American Pit Bull Terrier continues to demonstrate its versatility, competing successfully in Obedience, Tracking, Agility, Protection, and Weight Pulls, as well as Conformation.

The United Kennel Club was the first registry to recognize the American Pit Bull Terrier. U.K.C. founder C. Z. Bennett assigned U.K.C. registration number 1 to his own APBT, Bennett's Ring in 1898.

Established in 1898, the United Kennel Club is the largest all-breed performance-dog registry in the world, registering dogs from all 50 states and 25 foreign countries. More than 60 percent of its 13,000 annually licensed events are tests of hunting ability, training and instinct. UKC prides itself on its family-oriented, friendly, educational events. The UKC has supported the "Total Dog" philosophy through its events and programs for over a century.

http://www.ukcdogs.com/About.htm

and smoked 10 cannabis joints prior to the attack,

Don't worry, that'll put her away for life. Oh, wait. This didn't happen in America.



Seriously, I think I'd have to be there, but I don't understand why the hell she wasn't liable for manslaughter. She let a dangerous dog in the house, the kid died. It was evidently dangerous enough there was a "family rule" against having the two together.

She doesn't look a day over 70!

Just saying.