A mother and grandmother have been sentenced to two years in prison each after a six-month-old girl was mauled to death by an American pit bull in Daventry. The dog, named Bruiser, attacked Molly Mae Wotherspoon on 3 October 2014, causing fatal injuries including a fractured skull and bites to all four limbs.
Northampton Crown Court heard that the baby was being cared for by her grandmother, Susan Aucott, 56, while her mother, Claire Riley, 23, was on a night out. The dog escaped from its cage in the kitchen and opened the living room door, where Molly Mae lay on a changing mat.
Prosecutor James House described Bruiser as "an aggressive and dangerous dog" that should not have been left with someone unable to control him. A vet who had previously examined the dog called it "one of the most aggressive dogs she had ever seen."
Aucott admitted being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog, while Riley admitted owning such a dog. Sentencing them, Mrs Justice Carr QC said: "This was a tragic and totally avoidable incident." James Allen of the Crown Prosecution Service said Molly Mae's death was entirely preventable if the two women had not allowed the dog near the child.
