A mum returned home to find her daughter, 10, had been mauled to death by her family’s XL Bully, an inquest has heard. The fatal attack happened whilst Savannah Bentham had been left home alone in the static caravan where she lived with her parents in the village of East Heslerton, in North Yorkshire.
The little girl was attacked by the six-year-old family pet, Biggie, on November 1, a police officer told a coroner today, Tuesday, September 23. An inquest at Northallerton Coroner’s Court heard the dog had been neutered and certified in accordance with the law, and there had been no previous incidents where the pet had shown aggression. Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Wilkinson told the hearing how Savannah’s mother, Tracey Bentham, returned home to find her little girl in a “foetal position” whilst the dog was “covered in blood”.
Mr Wilkinson said Tracey had popped out to ask a relative to fix a faulty gas cannister connection, and returned home to uncover the tragic scene.
He said: “Savannah was in a foetal position in the address and the dog was present and covered in blood.”
Customers of nearby businesses and, later, paramedics raced to the scene in an attempt to resuscitate the schoolgirl. The officer added that Savannah’s grandfather secured the dog in a car.
However, the inquest was told that Savannah died at the scene from injuries to her neck.
A post-mortem examination on the dog, which was put down by a vet following the fatal attack, found no “physical or pathological alterations” that would have caused a “burst of aggression”, the inquest heard.
The officer said there was no requirement for the dog to have a muzzle in the family home.
Mr Wilkinson said Savannah’s father, Bradley, was at work on November 1, 2024, when the incident occurred, and the girl was at home with her mother because it was a school holiday.
He said the family’s caravan was part of an industrial unit and Mrs Bentham had gone to find Savannah’s grandfather, Mark, who was elsewhere on the site, after she realised the heating gas cannister he had just installed was not working properly and Savannah wanted a shower.
Mr Wilkinson said: “At the time, Savannah was at home with Biggie, watching TV.”
He said there had been nothing up to that point that was “any cause for concern” and the family described Biggie as a “lazy dog”.
He said: “When they returned back to the caravan they could see that Biggie had attacked Savannah and, consequently, the emergency services were called.”
Asked by North Yorkshire’s senior coroner Jon Heath whether there had been any problems with Biggie in the past in the caravan, Mr Wilkinson said: “It was entirely normal in terms of the dog being in the family home.
“There’s never been any incident in relation to the dog in the family home as far as the inquiry determined.”
Asked by the coroner, the officer confirmed that there were no witnesses to the attack in the caravan.
In a statement issued by North Yorkshire Police after the incident, the family said: “We are utterly shocked and devastated by what happened to Savannah.
“We can’t believe we have lost our wonderful girl who we love so much.”
