This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-33062393
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Ava-Jayne Corless death: Dog owner faces jail | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The owner of a dog that mauled an 11-month-old baby to death has been found guilty of owning a banned breed. | The owner of a dog that mauled an 11-month-old baby to death has been found guilty of owning a banned breed. |
| Ava-Jayne Corless was attacked while sleeping at a house in Blackburn, Lancashire, in February 2014. | Ava-Jayne Corless was attacked while sleeping at a house in Blackburn, Lancashire, in February 2014. |
| Lee Wright, 27, had denied the claim his pet, called Snoop, was a banned pit bull-type that contravened the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. | Lee Wright, 27, had denied the claim his pet, called Snoop, was a banned pit bull-type that contravened the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. |
| At Blackburn Magistrates' Court, Wright was warned he was facing jail and will be sentenced later. | At Blackburn Magistrates' Court, Wright was warned he was facing jail and will be sentenced later. |
| District Judge Gerald Chalk asked for a pre-sentence report to be obtained. | District Judge Gerald Chalk asked for a pre-sentence report to be obtained. |
| The judge agreed there was no evidence to suggest Wright had known the dog was of a prohibited breed. | The judge agreed there was no evidence to suggest Wright had known the dog was of a prohibited breed. |
| He said both expert witnesses had relied on the American Dog Breeders Association as standard in making their assessment of the dog, but said it was "comment rather than definitive". | He said both expert witnesses had relied on the American Dog Breeders Association as standard in making their assessment of the dog, but said it was "comment rather than definitive". |
| Wright had disputed the pet was a banned pit bull type dog in contravention of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, saying he believed it to be an American pit bull. | Wright had disputed the pet was a banned pit bull type dog in contravention of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, saying he believed it to be an American pit bull. |
| Ava-Jayne was killed in February 2014 at the defendant's house on Emily Street, Blackburn, as her mother Chloe King and Wright - her then-boyfriend - slept. | Ava-Jayne was killed in February 2014 at the defendant's house on Emily Street, Blackburn, as her mother Chloe King and Wright - her then-boyfriend - slept. |
| They believed the dog was in the kitchen blocked in by a speaker and a golf bag stand. | They believed the dog was in the kitchen blocked in by a speaker and a golf bag stand. |
| Police said at the time the dog - which was destroyed after the attack - had been identified by experts as a pit bull terrier-type. | Police said at the time the dog - which was destroyed after the attack - had been identified by experts as a pit bull terrier-type. |
| During the two-day trial, expert witness Peter Olsen, a retired veterinary surgeon, had examined the dead dog and concluded it shared a "substantial number of characteristics" with a pit bull. | During the two-day trial, expert witness Peter Olsen, a retired veterinary surgeon, had examined the dead dog and concluded it shared a "substantial number of characteristics" with a pit bull. |
| But veterinary surgeon and animal behaviourist expert Elizabeth Kendal Shepherd said she was "unable to form any reliable opinion" about the dog's breed. | But veterinary surgeon and animal behaviourist expert Elizabeth Kendal Shepherd said she was "unable to form any reliable opinion" about the dog's breed. |