Grandmother of girl mauled to death was 'high on drink and drugs' and opened door to killer pit bull

The grandmother of a five-year-old girl killed by a pit bull terrier let the animal into her home when she was high on drink and drugs, a court heard yesterday.

Jacqueline Simpson, 45, was on prescription drugs, had been smoking cannabis and had drunk at least four glasses of wine while baby-sitting granddaughter Ellie on New Year's Eve.

The child suffered 72 bites when the pit bull, which at 5st 4lb was twice her weight, grabbed her by the throat.

Ellie, whose injuries included 37 wounds to her face, neck and head, cried out for "Nannie" just once before being savaged to death.

It is alleged that Simpson knew the 12-month-old dog, named Reuben, was dangerous - it had attacked twice before - and that Ellie's parents had banned it from the house when their daughter was visiting.

But in the early hours of New Year's Day Simpson allowed the dog, which was owned by her 23-year-old son Kiel, into her home.

Within minutes the illegal animal had killed her granddaughter and left Simpson with serious arm injuries.

Yesterday a jury at Liverpool Crown Court, where Simpson denies manslaughter, heard a harrowing account of the night Ellie died.

In a statement to police, Simpson said: "It (the dog) just jumped up, it started barking and running round.

"Then it got Ellie there on the chair.

"It's body was on top of her and her little legs was moving and it was shaking her. She shouted my name once, she shouted Nannie. I think it was her throat, it had hold of her, it just kept shaking her around. It keeps dropping her and picking her up. I was fighting with it, I was trying to get it off her . . . there was blood everywhere.

"I just dragged it out of there. I was screaming at it. That is when I phoned the ambulance and I just knew because I could see our Ellie lay there.

"I knew she weren't with us any more. She was covered in blood, all her hair and everything."

The court heard that the attack took place at Simpson's home in St Helens shortly before 4.30am on New Year's Day this year.

Ellie and her four-month- old brother, Josh, had been staying there while their parents, Lindsey Simpson, 24, and Darren Lawrenson, 30, celebrated with friends.

The couple, who live in Great Sankey, Warrington, had returned to collect their children in the early hours but Ellie asked to stay with her grandmother and they left.

Soon afterwards, Simpson saw the dog "crying and whimpering" outside and, although she had been told never to allow it in the house with the child, she let it in.

Initially, Simpson told paramedics that Reuben "went at" Ellie for no reason.

But in a police statement two weeks later she changed her account in an alleged attempt to minimise her responsibility for Ellie's death.

She told officers that the dog went berserk after hearing a bang, possibly from a firework.

Ellie, who was 3ft 6in tall, stood no chance against the pit bull, suffering bites to her face, neck, head, arms, legs, chest and back.

Simpson needed surgery for arm injuries she suffered while trying to stop the dog, which was shot dead by police marksmen after being cornered in the garden.

Nigel Flewitt QC, prosecuting, told the jury that blood samples taken from Simpson, who was on antidepressants, revealed she had been smoking cannabis and drinking wine shortly before the tragedy.

A forensic scientist who analysed said that this cocktail of drink and drugs could have affected her decision to allow the dog inside, Mr Flewitt said.

Police experts said the pit bull was devoid of any fat, with very well-defined muscles which made it "exceptionally powerful with immeasurable strength to bite and shake".

Mr Flewitt said there was no doubt that Simpson knew the dog was dangerous.

He said she was aware the animal had attacked twice before - injuring a neighbour's dog and attacking her younger daughter, Kelsey, 19.

Miss Simpson suffered three large bites when Reuben, which she said had "bulging red and horrible eyes", savaged her right thigh six weeks before Ellie's death.

Simpson told her son to get rid of the dog but, because he did not want it put down, let him keep it in the back yard until he found a new owner.

He was jailed for eight weeks in April for owning a dog outlawed under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

After her arrest Simpson was asked whether she thought she could have prevented Ellie's death.

She told police: "I should have insisted on Kiel getting rid of it."

Asked about what she did on the night Ellie died, she said: "I shouldn't have let it in, should I?"

Mr Flewitt said Simpson unlawfully killed Ellie because, despite knowing the dog was dangerous, she allowed it into the house.

As a result, she was in breach of a duty of care and was guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence.

William Dinsdale, 70, whose Jack Russell Milo was attacked by Reuben, told the court he felt lucky he had not been killed when he used his walking stick to ward off the pit bull.

He said he phoned the police and the council to report the attack.

"It really upset me because I reported this dog to two establishments and was under the illusion somebody would go out and look at this dog. But as far as I know somebody just sent a letter. Nobody assessed what type of dog it was."

The case continues.