BRITAIN:The grandmother of a five-year-old girl mauled to death by her uncle's illegally-kept pit bull terrier was cleared of manslaughter yesterday after a jury found she was not criminally responsible for the death.
Jacqueline Simpson, 45, who was babysitting Ellie Lawrenson at her own home in St Helens, Merseyside, to allow the child's parents to go out for New Year's Eve, had been accused of manslaughter, owing her granddaughter a duty of care.
Ms Simpson had drunk two bottles of wine mixed with lemonade and smoked 10 joints on the day she let the dog into the house, where it attacked Ellie, grabbing her by the throat and shaking her.
After the verdict the jury heard Ms Simpson had been charged with possession of heroin found at her home. The prosecution is not pursuing this charge.
At Liverpool crown court Ellie's father, Darren Lawrenson, 31, called his mother-in-law stupid. "Without doubt she ended Ellie's life," he said. He stormed out of the court after the verdict.
The judge, Mr Justice Royce, questioned why no charges had been brought against Kiel Simpson, Ellie's uncle, who was jailed for eight weeks this year for illegally owning the dog, Reuben, contrary to the UK's Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. At the magistrates' hearing it was claimed he felt "morally responsible" for Ellie's death.
The prosecutor, Neil Flewitt, said officers believed there was no realistic chance of conviction as Mr Simpson had not thought the dog had access to Ellie.
The judge said: "The greatest sentence passed in this case is a life sentence of regret this lady has passed on herself."
Mr Simpson, 24, is a convicted drug dealer, sentenced in 2003 to 21 months in a young offenders' institute for possessing cannabis worth £24,000. He was not in court during the trial.
The court heard Ellie's mother, Lindsey Simpson, 25, and the child's father, Mr Lawrenson, had returned to the house at 2.30am. But Ellie said she wanted to stay there with her grandmother. More than an hour later Ellie was in her pyjamas but still up when the pit bull lunged at her.
Before her arrest Ms Simpson said: "I feel so guilty . . . if by killing myself I could bring my El back then I would. I had my back to them for a moment . . . Ellie shouted 'Nanny' just once. I looked round and it had grabbed her. I was fighting with it. I got on top of Ellie to try and keep it off. Then it came back and went for her again. I live with it every day." Ellie suffered 72 injuries, mainly to her head and neck. Reuben, at 34kg, was twice her weight.
Paul Hudson, a police sergeant called to the scene, said the wooden laminate living-room floor was awash with blood as though it had been mopped with it. The dog was in the garden, in a frenzied state barking and baring its teeth at him. He was worried that if it ran at the window it could easily break the glass and get in to them.
Before the attack on Ellie, Reuben had bitten Lindsey's younger sister, Kelsey, now 20, and had attacked a Jack Russell called Milo. Reuben was later destroyed by a police marksman.
After Ellie's death Merseyside police, in a month-long dangerous dogs amnesty, were handed 200 animals and seized 47 dogs whose owners were being sued under the Dangerous Dogs Act. -