Dangerous dog owners jailed for homicide

Pensioner died of his injuries in an Alicante hospital

A COUPLE whose six dangerous dogs bit an elderly man to death in Pinoso in 2016 have been sentenced to two and a half years in prison each.

It was considered proven they knew the risk posed by their animals but did nothing to prevent them from harming others, according to the ruling of an Alicante criminal court reported by state news agency EFE.

Juan de Díos P.M, aged 40, and Sandra G.A, 28, were found guilty of homicide for the death of José Sellés Poveda.

The couple, who have since split up, were also ordered to compensate the victim’s widow with €100,000, plus €20,400 for each of his three children and €10,449 to the regional health department for the expenses of treating the victim.

Sr Sellés had just returned from a walk to his house in the district of El Faldar on October 26, 2016, when he was viciously attacked by the six dogs and suffered serious injuries that he died from in Elda hospital a few days later.

The judge concluded the couple were ‘fully aware’ that the chainlink fence around their property was often cut and tampered with, but acted ‘negligently’ by doing nothing to correct the situation and prevent the potentially dangerous dogs from escaping.

The ruling indicated that although there was not enough evidence that the animals were an American Staffordshire Terrier-Boxer cross – which would legally classify them as a potentially dangerous breed – they were obviously ‘strong muscled and robust, with athletic build, voluminous head, short fur and powerful jaws’.

It also noted they had showed signs of ‘aggressiveness and ferocity’ before the fatal attack when they almost attacked a neighbour the previous month (who took refuge in a car), and ‘habitually’ charged the fence with force when anyone passed by.

Despite knowing this, the owners never muzzled, tied up or took other safety precautions with their dogs.

The ruling concluded the dogs had a high propensity for ‘dangerousness and potentially causing injuries’, which was supported by the forensic expert’s testimony that the victim had died from the serious bite wounds they had inflicted on him .