Rapper denies owning dangerous dogs after XL Bullies mauled grandmother to death
19 September 2024, 15:07 | Updated: 19 September 2024, 15:17
An aspiring rapper has pleaded not guilty to owning or being in charge of two XL Bullies that mauled a grandmother to death.
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Ashley Warren, 40, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday charged with two counts of owning a dangerously out of control dog.
Warren had also been charged with owning a bladed article following his arrest earlier this year.
Esther Martin, 68, from Essex, was killed on February 3 after the two dogs, named in court papers as Beauty and Bear, attacked her in a Jaywick home.
Police arrived at the property to find Ms Martin unresponsive, having sustained "unsurvivable injuries" after she travelled to the address to visit her 11-year-old grandson.
The two dogs were destroyed at the scene and were later confirmed by Essex Police to be XL bullies.
It's thought to be the first case of its kind to come to court since laws on owning XL bullies came into force earlier this year.
Appearing in court, Warren pleaded not guilty to being the owner of a dog which caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place, namely an XL bully named Bear.
He also pleaded not guilty to being in charge of a dog which caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place, namely an XL bully called Beauty.
Additionally, Warren pleaded not guilty to possession of a bladed article.
Warren, of High Road, Leytonstone, east London, wore a brown shirt and black trousers as he appeared in the dock.
Coroner's officer Andy Flack said police were called to a disturbance at the address in Hillman Avenue, where they found Ms Martin unresponsive with "unsurvivable" injuries, along with two large dogs.
Ms Martin was staying at the address but lived in Woodford Green in east London.
Ms Martin was pronounced dead at 4.47pm that afternoon, with her medical cause of death recorded as "dog bite wounds to the upper right limb".
Ms Martin had reportedly tried to break up the fighting dogs shortly before the attack.
Warren was given conditional bail by the judge with the three-to-four week trial set to begin on August 11, 2025.
