WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Morgan Dorsett, 19, was fatally mauled by an XL bully named Prince at a flat in South Bristol last year. Kelcie Reed, 24, has been handed a suspended prison sentence of 18 weeks
A woman has been handed a suspended sentence after confessing to being in control of an unruly dog that brutally killed her teenage cousin.
Morgan Dorsett, aged 19, tragically lost her life when the XL bully, named Prince, inflicted fatal wounds on her at a flat on Cobhorn Drive, Withywood, South Bristol, on February 26 last year. Despite emergency services rushing to the scene at 7.19pm, they were unable to save Morgan, who suffered devastating injuries to her neck.
The teenager, originally from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, was pronounced dead at the scene. The dog was subsequently euthanised. Kelcie Reed, 24, of Barrowmead Road in Lawrence Weston, pleaded guilty in May to a single charge of being in control of a dangerously out-of-control dog resulting in death.
Today, she received a suspended prison sentence of 18 weeks, reduced from 26 weeks due to her guilty plea, according to BristolLive. The sentence is suspended for 18 months, on the condition that Reed completes a mental health treatment programme and avoids reoffending, meaning she walked out of court a free woman today.
The judge said: “There are no circumstances to justify an immediate sentence as opposed to a suspended one.” Reed was reduced to tears upon hearing the verdict, comforted by a family member as the proceedings drew to a close.
Judge Anna Richardson declared: “This is a case that is utterly tragic, for Morgan Dorsett’s family and it has also had a huge impact on you, I accept. Not a comparable impact, but a huge impact.”
HHJ Richardson clarified that the dog’s ownership, whether it belonged to Reed or her partner, was irrelevant. Although the dog’s exemption certificate mandated him to wear a muzzle outdoors, it offered no instructions on how he should be restrained indoors, Judge Richardson pointed out.
Judge Richardson told the court: “Morgan’s behaviour was unusual… she began to scream upon seeing Prince, that led to him barking and ultimately to attack her.” The judge also commended the ‘extraordinary courage’ shown by Morgan’s family members.
She said: “The courage that it must take to stand up and read a statement about the pain of your loss is extraordinary. Kayla (Morgan’s sister) described Morgan as her best friend… she, like you, suffers now with intense grief and post traumatic stress disorder.”
Following her heartbreaking death, Morgan’s family launched a campaign in her honour, calling for stricter laws surrounding dangerous dogs.
“We can’t just have her die for no reason,” her mother Marie Smith told the BBC in an interview, adding: “Something needs to happen from this… To have a gun in your home you need to have a licence. You are then background checked, you have to have character witnesses, they check that you’ve got a gun cabinet in your home.
“Where are these checks for these dogs? Where are they? There are none. You sign a piece of paper to say I’ve got this dog, it’s at this address and you’re on your merry way. Nobody is checking in on it.”
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