A pensioner with a replacement hip, arthritis and a limp was left in charge of 10 XL Bully dogs with a total weight of up to 190kg before she was mauled to death, a court has heard.
Esther Martin, 68, was killed by two of the ‘unpredictable’ and ‘towering’ animals in what was described as a ‘tragedy waiting to happen’.
Ashley Warren, 41, is on trial at Chelmsford Crown Court accused of owning or being in charge of the two dogs that killed Ms Martin.
He left her with the dogs, named Beauty and Bear, and eight puppies of the same breed at his home in Jaywick, Essex, on February 3 2024.
Jurors previously heard the aspiring rapper had asked Ms Martin, who was 5ft 3in, to mind the animals so he could travel to London to film a music video.
The court hears how the dogs’ ‘ferocity’ meant police were unable to enter the home until they had used Tasers and entered with shields.
Ms Martin had at least 60 mostly dog-related injuries before her death and the animals had not been walked for four weeks before the attack, jurors heard.
Prosecutor Chris Paxton KC said Ms Martin had ‘restricted’ movement after a hip replacement and had arthritis and a limp.
He said it was a ‘ludicrous suggestion’ to say she could be considered a ‘fit and proper person’ to control the dogs.
According to Mr Paxton the combined weight of the pack was between 180kg and 190kg and the dogs were ‘unpredictable, towering, muscular’ animals.
Esther Martin, 68, was killed after she was left in charge of the pets by aspiring rapper Ashley Warren at his home in Jaywick, Essex, jurors have been told
Ashley Warren, 41, had been in London to shoot a music video on the day of the attack
A rap video created in memory of Ms Martin’s late daughter – and Warren’s partner – shows the grandmother alongside Warren and her other family members
The dogs were owned by breeder Ashley Warren, a wannabe rapper who goes by the name Wyless Man (pictured)
Tattooed East London rapper Warren, who features in drill music videos online, also posted a Facebook ad selling XL Bully puppies for £500 in November
He added these were not ‘static Roman statues but living, writhing, fighting dogs’.
Mr Paxton said Warren had described the dogs as ‘bouncy’.
The two adult dogs weighed 39kg and 47kg and each of the eight puppies were between 10kg and 12kg, the court heard.
Warren had known Ms Martin for more than 12 years and would have been aware of her mobility issues, meaning he had ‘no basis’ to believe she could ‘physically stop the dogs’, Mr Paxton said.
He added: ‘The defendant is responsible as the owner of Bear and being in charge of Beauty because no one could reasonably believe that Esther Martin was a fit and proper person.
‘No one would reasonably believe that Esther could control those dogs with the physicality and power that they clearly possessed, never mind the fact that there was not just one adult XL Bully dog but two, with eight puppies in tow.’
Mr Paxton said the dogs’ ‘ferocity’ meant police were unable to enter the home until they had used Tasers and entered with shields.
Allan Compton KC, defending, said there was ‘no evidence that those dogs were ever aggressive to any human being’ other than an incident where Bear ‘nipped’ a neighbour who ‘smacked him on the nose’.
He said: ‘With all breeds you can have good dogs and you can have bad dogs and what is far more important, we suggest, is the consistent behaviour of the dogs or a dog over the months and years.’
There was ‘not a single incident of concern’ with the two adult dogs, Mr Compton added.
Mr Compton said Ms Martin had ‘never raised concerns about the dogs’, and that she had looked after them ‘from time to time, albeit for short periods’.
Of the defendant, he said: ‘How can a person still be in charge of a dog if they have no ability to influence its behaviour?
‘You can’t call a dog to heel when you’re 80 miles away.’
The wannabe drill rapper and son-in-law of Ms Martin is also known as Wyless Man
XL Bully dogs Bear (left) and Beauty were tasered by police before they entered the home
Warren denies being a person in charge of a dog named Beauty (pictured) which caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place
Mr Compton said there had not been a ‘single incident of concern’ with Bear (pictured) or Beauty
Warren is seen in his music video rapping in front of a cannon
Warren is a rapper who uses the name Wyless Man and posts music videos online
The two adult dogs feature in Warren’s music videos posted online
Last week Warren told the court the two adult animals were ‘loving, friendly, family dogs’.
He added the dogs ‘weren’t raised to attack or bite’.
‘I never seen this coming in a million years,’ he said last week.
‘I would never have left Esther with the dogs if I thought they were dangerous.’
He continued: ‘She knew the dogs. I never thought for one second this would happen. They were always loving dogs.’
Warren said he was going to London to ‘shoot a video and meet up with my lady friend’, asking Ms Martin ‘if she could come and help look after the dogs’.
The mauling happened two days after the Government made it a criminal offence to own an XL Bully in England and Wales without a certificate of exemption.
Warren, now of Addlestone, Surrey, has pleaded not guilty to being the owner of a dog named Bear which caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place and to being a person in charge of a dog named Beauty which did the same.
He has also denied having a bladed article without good reason or lawful authority at Clacton railway station on February 3, 2024.
The defendant wore a pink shirt and sat in the dock with his head bowed during Monday’s hearing.
The trial continues.
