Two women jailed after nine-year-old boy killed in dog attack
A mother and her friend have been jailed after a dog attack claimed the life of a nine-year-old boy last April.
Frankie MacRitchie from Plymouth died after he was attacked by a dog inside a caravan at Tencreek Holiday Park in Cornwall.
Today (June 9th) at Truro Crown Court Frankie's mother, 31-year-old Tawnee Willis from Plymouth, was sentenced to two years in prison.
And the dog's owner Sadie Totterdell, 29, from Plymouth was sentenced to three years.
Totterdell will serve half her sentence before she's eligible for release. She was also banned from owning or controlling any dog for 10 years.
The news follows Frankie's mother previously pleading guilty to neglecting a young person, and Totterdell previously pleading guilty to being the owner/person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.
According to police Frankie had been staying at the holiday park with his mother and other adults including Sadie Totterdell, for a number of nights before his death.
On the night Frankie died the group were partying at the site's social club and in an adjacent caravan, while Frankie was left alone with the dog.
A post-mortem examination found Frankie had suffered 54 injuries during the attack and died from blood loss.
The court heard that his mother got him something to eat at around 2am. When she next went to check on him at about 4.30am she found him fatally injured.
Emergency services attended but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In a statement after the sentencing Frankie's family said "no sentence would ever be enough to forgive the two women."
Detective Inspector Steve Hambly also commented after the sentencing saying that it "was a very clear warning to anyone who owns a dog."