Seven-month-old baby mauled to death by family dog sustained 'catastrophic' injuries after leaning on pet, inquest hears

By Danielle de Wolfe

@dannidewolfe

A seven-month-old baby was mauled to death by her family’s pet dog after leaning on the dog while crawling on the living room floor, an inquest heard.

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Elle Doherty received a "catastrophic" bite to the head after the family's Belgian Malinois called Zeus attacked her at the family home in Shorncliffe Road, Coundon, on June 16.

The attack, described as lasting "a second or less", was captured on an indoor security camera, with stills presented to Coventry Coroner's Court showing the 35kg (4st 12oz) dog being pulled off the child.

Medical help was summoned immediately, however, Elle was pronounced dead in hospital an hour after the attack.

Described by coroner Delroy Henry as a "sudden and unanticipated" attack by the animal, the coroner heard how the animal had never previously shown any signs of aggression before the fatal incident at the family home.

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However, the court did hear how the family dog had required sessions with a behaviourist two years earlier.

The expert had been contacted over the dog’s behaviour again in the run-up to the tragedy, the court heard.

The court heard how the baby had been "mobile from an early age" and began "rolling around" aged just three or four months and crawled unaided for the first time around a month before she died, Coventry Coroner’s Court heard.

Her parents, Sean and Natasha Doherty, did not attend the hearing after expressing what Mr Henry said was a "wholly understandable" wish to be excused.

A series of freeze-frame CCTV images - recorded by an indoor security camera - showed the couple sitting on and standing near a sofa as Elle looked out of a nearby patio window, with the dog, which weighed 31 kilogrammes and was called Zeus, standing nearby.

Subsequent stills showed the couple intervening to pull the three-year-old dog away, and protect and cradle Elle, who had suffered skull fractures.

Commenting on the stills, Detective Inspector Anthony Hibbert agreed with Mr Henry's suggestions that the incident "transpired within a second or less" and that both parents "immediately reacted to this situation by removing Zeus from the equation" and taking hold of both the dog and Elle.

Mr Hibbert told the inquest: "It appears from when you watch the footage, maybe baby Elle slightly leant on Zeus and that is when Zeus attacks baby Elle."

In a written statement to the court, Mr Doherty said they had acquired Zeus as a puppy from a breeder in Gloucester in October 2020.

Describing the fatal incident, Mr Doherty said he at first thought that Zeus, who had previously been trained by two separate dog experts, had "pinned" down a second family pet, a 15-year-old French bulldog.

His statement, read to the court by the coroner, said: "We were just chatting and suddenly (Natasha) shouted, 'No'. I grabbed him (Zeus) - I think it was his collar.

"I chucked him outside. Elle was on the floor crying. Everything happened so quickly."

Mr Doherty added of Zeus: "He was good around people, good around other dogs. The only thing he didn't like was if he was surprised by another dog. He would just start barking.

In her statement, Mrs Doherty said Zeus was quite a reactive dog, was muzzle-trained and was "fine with other people".

"When Elle was born, Zeus showed no interest," her statement said. "He would sniff her a little sometimes but he was fine."

The inquest heard a dog-handler was called to the scene and used a sedation dart to remove Zeus from the garden.

The dog was taken to a vet's and put down.

Recording a narrative verdict at the end of the hearing, Mr Henry said Elle was initially looking out of a window in the living room.

The coroner added: "The dog has shown no signs of aggression to baby Elle or, indeed, any of the occupants of that home. Baby Elle brushed against him. I find as a fact that the dog bit the head of baby Elle.

"Sadly, baby Elle died a short time later the same day. The death of baby Elle was caused by a sudden and unanticipated behaviour of a large dog in a family home.

"This is certainly a tragic incident - a family changed forever. I really don't think there are any words that I could say to console the family of Elle save to re-iterate that my heart goes out to the Elle's parents and family."