An inquest revealed that the parents of a seven-month-old baby, killed in less than a second by a pet dog, quickly intervened to protect her.
Security camera footage presented to Coventry Coroner’s Court showed the Belgian Malinois dog being dragged away, and medical assistance was summoned immediately for Elle Doherty, following an incident described by coroner Delroy Henry as “sudden and unanticipated.”.
Elle suffered a “catastrophic” head injury at her home in Shorncliffe Road, Coundon, on the afternoon of June 16, and doctors declared her dead an hour after the attack, according to an hour-long inquest on Thursday.
Sean and Natasha Doherty, her parents, did not attend the hearing after expressing what Mr. Henry described as a “wholly understandable” wish to be excused.
When you watch the footage, it appears that baby Elle is slightly leaning on Zeus, at which point Zeus attacks her.
Detective Inspector Anthony Hibbert
A series of freeze-frame CCTV images captured by an indoor security camera showed the couple sitting on and standing near a sofa while Elle looked out of a nearby patio window, with the dog, Zeus, who weighed 31 kilograms, standing nearby.
Subsequent stills showed the couple intervening to pull the three-year-old dog away while also protecting and cuddling Elle, who had suffered skull fractures.
Commenting on the stills, Detective Inspector Anthony Hibbert agreed with Mr. Henry’s suggestion 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 seizing both the dog and Elle.
Mr. Hibbert recounted to the inquest: “It appears from when you watch the footage, maybe baby Elle slightly leans on Zeus, and that is when Zeus attacks baby Elle.”
In a written statement to the court, Mr. Doherty stated that they purchased Zeus as a puppy from a breeder in Gloucester in October 2020.
In his description of the fatal incident, Mr. Doherty stated that he initially thought Zeus, who had previously received training from two different dog experts, had “pinned” down a second family pet, a 15-year-old French bulldog.
The coroner read his statement to the court, stating: “We were just chatting when Natasha shouted ‘No’.” I grabbed him (Zeus); I believe it was his collar.
“I threw him outside.” Elle was crying on the floor. “Everything happened so fast.”
Undoubtedly, this tragic incident has forever changed a family. I don’t think there are any words that I could say to console the family of Elle, except to re-iterate that my heart goes out to Elle’s parents and family.
Delroy Henry serves as the coroner for the Coventry region.
Mr. Doherty added about Zeus: “He was good around people and other dogs. Zeus disliked the unexpected presence of another dog. He would simply start barking.
“He never showed any signs of aggression.”
Zeus, according to Mrs. Doherty’s statement, was a reactive dog with a muzzle who was “fine with other people.”
“When Elle was born, Zeus showed no interest,” the statement read. “He would sniff her a little sometimes, but he was fine.”
The inquest heard that a dog handler was called to the scene and used a sedative dart to remove Zeus from the garden.
The veterinarian took the dog and euthanized it.
At the end of the hearing, Mr. Henry recorded a narrative verdict, stating that Elle was initially looking out of a living room window.
The coroner added: “The dog has shown no signs of aggression toward baby Elle or any of the occupants of that home. Baby Elle brushed against him. I can confirm that the dog bit baby Elle’s head.
Sadly, baby Elle died later that day. Baby Elle died as a result of a large dog’s unexpected and unpredictable behavior in a family home.
Undoubtedly, this is a tragic incident that has forever changed a family. I don’t know what words I could say to console Elle’s family other than to reiterate that my heart goes out to her parents and family.”
