We are happy we got justice.. Alejandro lost his childhood
»Family of boy horrifically mauled by XL tell of his psychological scars »Man and woman are jailed for offences linked to savage attack
THE family of a boy who was mauled by a pit bull said “we are happy we got justice” as a man and woman were jailed in connection with the attack.
Alejandro Mizsan, 11, suffered horrific injuries to his face, body and legs during the attack by an XL Bully.
The horrific incident happened while he was playing with friends near his home in Enniscorthy, Wexford, on November 29, 2022.
Outside Wexford Circuit Court, after Karen Miller, 38, and Niall Byrne, 26, were jailed, the Mizsan family said Alejandro “lost his childhood”.
The court heard the boy will require intensive ongoing treatment and “suffers depression after the massive trauma.”
The court also heard four days before the mauling, the same dog attacked a ten-year-old boy who escaped with cuts.
Miller pleaded guilty to two charges of endangerment in relation to the attack on Alejandro and the previous incident.
She also admitted obstructing gardai by failing to tell them where the dog was while it was being killed.
Byrne, who has 68 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to the inhumane destruction of dog and to threatening to kill or cause serious harm to Francis Miller and Caroline O’brien.
Sgt Sylvia Ryan told the court a 999 call was made at 4pm that the restricted breed dog had attacked Alejandro who was playing on a green area with three young pals.
Miller later told gardai she had the dog on a lead but he was too strong and broke free. CCTV showed the dog roaming and going towards children.
Sgt Ryan said a neighbour began hitting the dog with a baseball bat to stop the attack.
Another neighbour brought Alejandro into his house, assisted by Karen Miller who claimed she did not know who owned the
You had a beautiful child and you still have a beautiful child & a brave young man
JUDGE MCCOURT WEXFORD CIRCUIT COURT YESTERDAY
He is always asking if it is going to be like that for life
RAUL MIZSAN WEXFORD COURT YESTERDAY
dog. As Alejandro suffered “catastrophic injuries” he was airlifted to Crumlin Hospital.
He suffered a complete tear opening from ear to ear, the complete removal of his lower lip and puncture wounds to both his thighs and his left chest.
He had emergency operations and had a feeding tube in his stomach.
He underwent further procedures the following month and January last year but still had “life changing, disfiguring scarring from ear to ear and had to have his mouth reconstructed”.
In their victim impact statement, the Mizsan family said Alejandro finds it hard to sleep, is scared to be on his own and thinks no one likes him because of how he looks.
His dad lost his job because he had to stay with him in hospital and mind him at home while the rest of them are still in deep shock and traumatised.
A postmortem on the dog showed it suffered blunt force trauma and repeated strikes to its head by Byrne.
The vet’s note said: “It suffered a traumatic death and was in pain before it died.
Defence counsel for Miller, John Peart, said when the mother-of-four was arrested, she told gardai: “You can throw away the key, it’s what I deserve.”
He added his client has “become a person who has been turned into a pariah” and lost her children and had to move out of her home because there were “severe threats to her”.
Byrne’s counsel Padraig Dwyer said: “He expressed real concern over what happened to Alejandro.”
In sentencing the pair, Judge Mccourt said: “People can’t be running around with unlicensed pitbull dogs with kids and young people around.
“There was a close shave when a boy escaped with a few scratches involving the same dog. It’s clear you didn’t heed the first warning.
“I cannot even begin to restore Alejandro to pre-attack life. It has a traumatic affect on the child and his family who lost jobs and expenses incurred.”
Turning to the Mizsan family, the judge added: “You had a beautiful child and you still have a beautiful child and a brave young man.
“This is a small step for a long road ahead and my sympathies, blessings and good wishes to you and especially Alejandro.
“We read about pitbull terriers and incidents like this happen too often. There has to be deterrents.”
Judge Mccourt jailed Miller to three years in prison with the final 12 months suspended.
He sentenced Byrne to three years in prison and gave him credit for 12 months he has already spent in custody, reducing his sentence to two years.
Speaking outside court, Alejandro’s older brother Raul said: “Mentally it’s very hard, it’s very hard for him looking in the mirror.
“He is always asking if it is going to be like this for life.”