Baby girl mauled to death by Rottweilers who snatched from cot in pub, court told

Distraught Amy Burchell discovered tiny Cadey Lee-Deacon's body lying on a roof terrace after the dogs snatched her from her Moses basket.

A hearing was told how Mrs Burchell clasped the bloodied and bruised youngster to her chest and screamed: "She's dead. She's dead."

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Cadey-Lee had been sleeping in her parents' bedroom in the living quarters of the Rocket pub in New Parks, Leicester, when the tragedy happened.

The dogs, four-and-a-half-year-old Bruno and 18-month-old Bess, were usually confined to the terrace and were not allowed inside unsupervised.

But on September 23 2006 a fire door leading to the roof was left open, allowing the animals to get inside and savage helpless Cadey-Lee.

The youngster's mother and her then-boyfriend Lee Burchell had earlier been lowering furniture and boxes from the terrace down to a van.

The devastated couple, both 26, wept in court as the inquest was read the statement Mrs Burchell gave to police after the tragedy.

In it she told how she fed Cadey-Lee before laying her in the basket and covering her with three sheets and her Winnie the Pooh comfort blanket.

She said: "I left the bedroom door slightly ajar. Myself, Lee, Lee's cousin and a friend were all helping with the moving of the furniture.

"We were all walking in and out of all of the rooms, lowering items over the terrace rather than taking them down the narrow stairs of the pub."

The inquest at Leicester Town Hall heard that at around 3.30pm the group had a break downstairs before heading back up after 20 minutes.

Mrs Burchell told police in her statement: "As I got to the top of the stairs Lee said: 'The baby's not in the bedroom.' I thought he was joking.

"Then I saw the Moses basket on the floor in the middle of the room and that its stand was knocked over. There was blood on the floor." Mrs Burchell said she immediately ran on to the terrace, adding: "I could see her body on the floor and could see the dog lying next to her.

"I just focused on getting Cadey-Lee. I picked her straight up and noticed she was not wearing her trousers and was totally covered in blood.

"I could see bite marks on her. She had all bruises on her, and I thought she was dead. I ran downstairs, holding Cadey-Lee to my chest."

Mrs Burchell was so desperate to get to hospital that she got a customer in the pub to take her in his van rather than wait for an ambulance.

But her daughter was pronounced dead by doctors at the Leicester Royal Infirmary after suffering bites to her head, chest and abdomen.

Mrs Burchell added: "Cadey-Lee was my only child and was everything to me, and Lee has always been there for her and loved her as his own.

"She was a healthy and happy baby. I loved her and cared for her, and what happened was the most tragic loss I could have faced."

Mr Burchell, Cadey-Lee's stepfather, told police in his own statement: "We were clearing out the pub because we were about to move premises.

"Four of us were moving furniture through the fire door and lowering it straight from the roof on to the tailgate of my mother's husband's van.

"We checked on Cadey-Lee regularly. At first she was awake, playing with her Winnie the Pooh comfort blanket, but later she was asleep.

"We were downstairs for 15 or 20 minutes. Then we grabbed the Hoover and mop and bucket and went back upstairs to finish clearing up.

"As I went into the dining-room I could see a toy on the roof. I went into the bedroom, and the Moses basket was in the middle of the floor.

"I said to Amy: 'The baby's not here.' She told me to stop being stupid. I didn't know what to do. I was screaming - then she realised I was being serious.

"I ran on to the terrace to find Cadey-Lee and saw Bruno asleep next to her. It just happened so fast. Everyone was screaming and shouting." Mr Burchell told police he brought Bruno in 2003 and Bess around 18 months later, both as family pets, and neither had caused problems before.

He added: "They had both been introduced to Cadey-Lee. Both liked her. They had never shown any interest in her and had always been okay."

Mr Burchell was asked by Leicester Coroner Martin Symington why he thought one or both of the Rottweilers attacked his stepdaughter.

He said: "All we can put it down to is the Moses basket was the only thing left. We don't know whether Bruno went in and thought we had left her."

Det Insp David Richardson, of Leicestershire police, said some witnesses had described the dogs as friendly animals who liked being petted.

He added that others had described them as "intimidating" but police, the RSPCA and the local authorities had never received a complaint.

The inquest heard the Crown Prosecution Service investigated Cadey-Lee's death but concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

Det Insp Richardson told the hearing: "There was no evidence found to suggest the care of Cadey-Lee fell below an acceptable standard.

"Because of unusual events, the door was left open and allowed the dogs to gain access to the living quarters - with tragic consequences."

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Symington said: "The movement of the dogs at this particular time does not appear to have been observed.

"In the hurly-burly of the family packing and getting ready to move it was overlooked that the door between the dining-room and the terrace was left open. "The attack on this five-month-old baby was an horrific event. But I do accept it was an unexpected attack and one the family had not anticipated."

Mrs Burchell and her husband - who was manager of the pub, where his mother Lesley Glaze was the licensee - refused to comment afterwards.