Man admits being in charge of a dog which killed a baby near Woodhall Spa
Vincent King was due to stand trial today but changed his plea to guilty.
Last updated 1st Jun 2023
The father of a three month old girl who died after being attacked by a dog in Lincolnshire has admitted being in charge of the Husky that killed her.
The incident happened at Ostlers plantation in Woodhall Spa back in March last year.
Vincent King was due to stand trial today but changed his plea to guilty.
His daughter, 3 month old Kyra Leanne King died from head and neck injuries caused by the family’s husky, Blizzard, on the 6th of March 2022,
The 55 year old from New York near Coningsby admitted being the owner or person in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death.
His former partner and mother of Kyra, Karen Alcock, had earlier pleaded guilty to the same charge back in December.
The dog Blizzard managed to leap over the partition separating cages
Earlier on Thursday, prosecutor Jeremy Janes told the court that King, and his then-partner Karen Alcock, were at Ostler's Plantation, an area of woodland near Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire, with 19 huskies at around 11pm on the day of the incident.
The dogs were transported in a van, the rear of which had been modified to contain lockable cages, and were used for racing rather than being domestic pets.
The animals were split into two teams which then pulled home-made sleds around the wooded area, and, after King and Alcock finished racing one group of dogs, they returned to the van to rotate the sledding teams.
But as they did so, one husky, Blizzard, managed to leap over the partition separating the cages from the van's front seats, before running out of the open passenger door and attacking Kyra in her pram.
Mr Janes said "it is not possible to separate" King and Alcock's involvement, due to both being at the scene when the incident occurred.
He said: "No-one was in control of Blizzard because both were at the rear of the van getting the second sled team ready.
Despite the efforts of emergency services Kyra was pronounced dead at the scene
"By default, that would make Mr King liable in law as the owner of Blizzard."
He added: "There is absolutely nothing to prevent a dog from getting from one part to another and out of the van.
"In other words, absolutely no preventative measures."
Despite the efforts of the emergency services, Kyra was pronounced dead at the scene, with an inquest later finding she died from head and neck injuries.
He said: "This was a lovely child that was tragically lost, but the law rightly considers the death of any child, even if it's your own, to be extremely serious."
"There is a premium, for good reason, on those who choose to have these dogs to get it right," he added.
Alcock, 41, had pleaded guilty to the same charge on December 23 last year and was not present at Thursday's hearing.
King was given unconditional bail
Adjourning proceedings, Judge Sjolin Knight told King: "There isn't now going to be a trial but what follows will need to be a sentence for both you and Ms Alcock.
"It's important that when I come to sentence you that I know as much as possible about both of you, the run-up to what happened and how you both reacted to it."
Lincolnshire Police had previously said that Blizzard had been kept in isolation at secure kennels since the incident and the force was seeking an order for her to be put down.
King, of Castle Dyke Bank, New York, Lincolnshire, was given unconditional bail.
Both are due to be sentenced in August.