Screaming girl killed by Rottweilers in ‘frenzied’ assault instructed to ‘rise up’

A pair of out of control Rottweilers viciously attacked and ultimately killed a 40-year old animal-loving woman walking to her sister’s house for tea.

“Kind and bubbly” Marie Stevens approached Rachel and Brian Walshe to stroke their two dogs Frankie and Rocky, in Netherton, Merseyside last summer.

Instead the mental health nurse was subjected to a ‘frenzied’ attack when Frankie escaped from Rachel’s grip and bit her, before Rocky joined in, the ECHO reports.

READ MORE: ‘Chemical explosion’ sparks ‘huge leak’ fears as orange plume seen in sky

Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star.

Brian Walshe managed to get control of the two dogs – but a witness reported hearing him tell the victim “Get up will you? There’s nothing wrong with you.” Walshe’s lawyer told the court that his client “vehemently denied” saying those words.

In a statement read at Liverpool Crown Court during the Walshes’ sentencing, Marie’s husband of 20 years Mark Stevens described himself as “heartbroken”.

He said: “I’m struggling to find the exact words to describe the utter turmoil I have been left in. I can still see her lying on the floor, gone. No matter what I’m doing and where I am, I can’t get that vision out of my head. She was so kind. Marie loved animals, especially dogs. Our dog Max died a year ago. I know that’s why she would have wanted to say hello to those dogs.”

Marie was taken to hospital with “extensive injuries to her limbs”, a “degloving” to her lower left leg and lacerations to her arms, right ankle and abdomen. Her injuries resulted in her needing a skin graft operation, and resulted in her having limited mobility.

Two weeks after the attack she was found collapsed in her home by her husband, and was pronounced dead at the scene. A post mortem found a blood clot which formed in her left calf as a result of the dog bite had travelled to her lungs, causing her death.

Marie’s sister Nicola Newton said in her statement: “She died stroking someone’s dogs. I can still hear her screams and see her lying in the street.”

The Walshes claimed Brian Walshe, 42, of The Marian Way in Netherton, had told Marie to stay away from the dogs, while in an interview he said he “never had any reason to be concerned about the temperament of either dog” since buying them from a breeder in Blackpool two years previously.

Rachel Walshe, 69, of Grosvenor Close in Netherton, said in an interview that Frankie “often barked at other dogs but was not aggressive towards them”, but “could be temperamental at times”.

For more incredible stories from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters

After the attack Brian Walshe took the dogs away, while retired nurse Rachel Walshe remained with Marie.

Rachel Walshe’s defence, John Rowan, said she replayed the attack every day, and wished “to offer her sincere apologies and remorse to the family”. She was also said to have no intention of owning a dog again.

Both admitted owning a dangerously out of control dog causing death, but avoided prison.

They were handed 10-month imprisonments suspended for 18 months with rehabilitation activity requirements of up to 20 days by Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC.