'XL bully ban won't stop them': Sister of woman killed speaks out

The sister of a woman who died after being attacked by her dogs, one of which was an XL bully, has welcomed the introduction of a ban on the breed but said it should be "stricter."

Nicole Morey's death on 4 June 2024 prompted Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys to introduce urgent new legislation that will make it illegal from Tuesday to import, breed or sell an XL bully dog.

From 1 February 2025, it will also be illegal to own the dogs without a certification of exemption, which will be obtained from local authorities.

Ms Morey had just returned to her house in Fedamore, Co Limerick after her birthday celebrations when she was viciously attacked and killed by the dogs.

In an interview to be broadcast on Upfront with Katie Hannon on RTÉ One at 10.35pm, Nicole’s sister Jolene speaks publicly for the first time. She says the introduction of the legislation gives her family some comfort but that concerns remain over the efficacy of the ban.

"The law they’re bringing out, you have to have a licence, you have to have papers. But my sister had all them, and it still had to take a death to bring in the law," Jolene Morey said.

"I don't think there's going to be a big enough change in it. I think people are going to keep the dogs, and then there's going to be more accidents and more attacks. But people won't feel the pain until it hits their front doorstep," she said.

"I think there should be a stricter law brought in. They're dangerous dogs. They're not small little puppies. They're not dogs that you could just mess around with. They can just switch in two seconds," Ms Morey added.

Nicole’s death sent shockwaves across the country, especially after videos of the incident were published on social media making her family’s grieving more difficult.

"My family want Nicole to be remembered as how much of a good person she was. Not the girl that died from the dog attack or the videos that's going viral. Nicole did so well in life. Nicole would do anything for anyone. She's just a lovable person," Jolene said.

'Best sister’

Nicole was the eldest of the six Morey siblings. Along with her sister Jolene she had four younger brothers, all of whom looked up to her. She was the rock of the family according to Jolene, who is four years younger.

"She was the cleverest out of all of us. She was a lovable person. The best big sister to all her brothers and sisters," Jolene said.

"She had a nickname, 'Mothers’, because she was just like a mother to us as well."

Nicole's bond with their actual mother, Lisa Marie, was just as tight.

"Her and my mum were more of two sisters than a daughter and a mother. Nicole used to come up and if any of us were being bold for my mum, Nicole would think she's the mum and she'd step in," Jolene said.

"She did her Leaving Cert. She was right up to the top. She had jobs. She made my mother proud. She made us all proud. She was just the best sister," Jolene added.

The dogs

Along with her family, Nicole’s other great love was her dogs.

Two and a half years prior to her death, the first of her two dogs, pitbulls named Cali and Rico, came into her life via a relationship.

"She loved them. I don't personally like dogs myself, but I would sit down with them. We'd go for long walks because she lived out the countryside. Their dogs were like a child to Nicole. That's how she loved them, that's how much," Jolene said.

Eventually Nicole's then partner brought two more dogs into their home. First Coco, and then Zeus, an XL bully.

While Jolene says Nicole was just as fond of Coco and Zeus as she was of Cali and Rico, the fact they weren't pups when they arrived meant they had to be kept in cages, separated from her first two dogs.

Although Jolene says she was always slightly wary of her sister's dogs, she ultimately trusted them and never suspected that they could turn on Nicole.

"Sometimes they would get rowdy, but not to a point where they'll go for her. Every time a car used to pass, they'd bark and stuff like that. I wouldn't go near a dog [usually], but I just felt like I trusted them dogs," Jolene said.

Sadly, on 4 June, tragedy struck, and upended Jolene and her family’s lives forever.

Last words

In the weeks before she died, Nicole’s relationship had broken down, but she remained caring for the four dogs.

On the night she was killed, she had been visiting a friend and celebrating her 23rd birthday. Before she left to go home, Nicole told her friend that she had to go to feed the dogs.

While in the taxi home, she phoned her sister Jolene to chat about the night.

"We were slagging about her birthday because I wasn't at home at the time. She was like, 'Oh, I got you a phone for your birthday. What did you get me?' And I was like, 'Oh, would you ever give over? I'll give it to you when you come in the next day'," Jolene said.

"I think we were only talking for under 10 minutes because she was halfway at home at this point. And then she was like, 'Oh, go on. I'll ring in a few minutes. I have to pay the taxi'."

Shortly after the phone call ended, Jolene received a text from her friend saying that her sister needed help.

"I was like, 'What do you mean my sister needs help?' And then, the ex-partner got in contact with someone and said that the dogs were attacking Nicole."

"I was sitting in my room in darkness, and I rang Nicole because I didn't believe it was real. Then I texted her, I said, Are you okay?' And got no message back. And then a video got sent to me. And they asked me if it was with my sister. And I just remember clicking into a video and seeing her on the floor," Jolene said.

The videos had been recorded from a CCTV camera at the house where the dogs were being kept.

After clicking out of the video, Jolene ran into her mother’s bedroom. Like Jolene, her mother Lisa Marie didn't believe what was happening to Nicole was real. Jolene then rang her uncle who then contacted the emergency services.

"I was just waiting for the phone call to say she's gone because I had a feeling in my stomach that she didn't survive it. But my mom was like, 'No, it's only bites and stuff.' Then my uncle rang, and I just knew from his voice that she was gone. I just heard him say, 'Go to the hospital'."

After rushing to University Hospital Limerick, Nicole, her mother and several other family members waited for an update on Nicole’s status.

"Every ambulance that was coming, we were running to see if Nicole was in them. But then a doctor came out and just said that Nicole is not coming here. Then I can just remember everyone crying," Jolene said.

Finally, a woman approached Jolene and her family and gave them the update they were all dreading, telling them Nicole was in the morgue.

"I just remember my mother screaming, crying. It was just horrible. It was a horrible memory to have inside."

Aftermath

The Garda Regional Armed Support Unit shot the XL bully dead at the scene, having responded to the emergency call out. The three other dogs were taken away and eventually destroyed by the authorities.

An inquest into Nicole’s death is planned and with the new legislation due to come into effect from Tuesday, Jolene will once again be reminded of the circumstances of 4 June.

"Every time I think of Nicole, I always think of happy memories always. But sometimes I think of the attack. I won't think too much of it, but it's hurtful," Jolene said.

"Nicole loved them dogs. They were like her children. And obviously, the dogs loved Nicole, but they just turned on her. And I know people have strong relationships with them dogs, but they can just turn you in seconds."

With the four-month anniversary of Nicole’s death on Friday, Jolene is determined to make sure that her "loveable" sister will be remembered much more for who she was than for what happened to her.

"I don’t want Nicole to be remembered as the girl who got attacked by the dogs. Me and my family want Nicole to be remembered as how much she was loved, how much she did well in life and how good of a girl she was before she passed."