Friday 10 June 2022 06:25 PM Mother of boy, 10, who was mauled to death by XL Bully dog reveals horrifying ... trends now
The mother of a 10-year-old schoolboy who was mauled to death by a dog revealed she suffers from horrifying flashbacks of the attack.
The near-7st Bully XL dog called Beast mauled 10-year-old schoolboy Jack Lis at a house in Caerphilly on November 8 last year - days after multiple attacks were caught on camera.
Amy Salter, 29, and Brandon Hayden, 19, owned Beast after the 'muscular' animal was advertised 'for free' on Facebook with a warning that it was 'not good with other dogs.' The pair were jailed for a total of seven years at Cardiff Crown Court today.
Jack Lis's mother Emma Whitfield was seen clutching a teddy bear after she left court today. In a statement read to Cardiff Crown Court on her behalf, Jack Lis's mother Emma Whitfield said: 'No mum should ever have the last images of their child as being dragged from a house, knowing deep down they're gone but praying that it isn't so.
'I close my eyes and I see the animal and its teeth. I hear the barking. I have severe panic attacks and I have horrifying flashbacks.
'I constantly ask 'Why my boy? Why Jack?' I would have given my life trying to protect him, but I couldn't do this because he wasn't somewhere familiar. He was at a friend's house, a house he should have been safe.'
'Some of the last conversations we had as a family were about Christmas presents and Jack told us what he wanted.
'Being able to buy his Christmas presents was even taken from us because all he asked for was clothes. We were no longer shopping for Christmas presents, we were shopping for clothes for Jack to be buried in.
'We should still have our Jack here in person to talk to but instead we say good morning and good night to his pictures without a response.
'I'm trapped in what used to be our family home. Now it's broken and it will never be the same again.'
Emma Whitfield, the mother of Jack Lis leaves Cardiff Crown Court. She said: 'I close my eyes and I see the animal and its teeth. I hear the barking. I have severe panic attacks and I have horrifying flashbacks'
Jack Lis was attacked by the XL bully dog while playing with a friend at a house after school in Pentwyn
Holding back tears after the sentencing today, she added: 'No sentence will ever be good enough for Jack or our family. The past seven months has been a torture that should never had happened. A torture that we will continue to live with. This animal was not a family pet.
'More need to be done regarding the law to prevent these types of owners and to prevent this type of situation happening again.
'I'm without my son. I'm without his smiles, his stories, his presence. Nothing will ever make up what this has done to our family. Jack laughed, jhe played, he told jokes. he deserved to have more of a life than this.
'We will never stop grieving Jack or loving him. So much has been taken from us. Now we must live our life sentence without such a beautiful boy.'
Meanwhile, Jack's father John Lis said in a statement read to the court on his behalf: 'How can I find the words to describe the impact that my son Jack's tragic unnecessary death have had on mine and my family's life? There aren't any.
'Losing a child is heartbreaking but to lose a child in such an horrific, unimaginable way is not something that anyone would ever be able to come to terms with or accept.
'The circumstances and the thought of how my son Jack must have been feeling at that time, all alone, in pain and frightened to death haunts me every day and night. I cannot close my eyes at night and think of anything else.
'Jack was 10 years old and had his whole life ahead of him but this was taken from him so unnecessary and so tragically. I'll never get to see him turn into a young man, learn to drive, get married or have children of his own - his brothers and sisters are so young they won't remember him.
'All I can pray for is that we get some justice for Jack's needless death and that lessons will be learnt preventing any other child and family suffering as we are.'
The Beast outside the village shop Top Stores on Heol Aneurin, Caerphilly, attacking pedestrians just days before the animal killed a schoolboy, 10
A child on his scooter was also attacked by the XL bully, which are not on Britain's banned breed list
Brandon Hayden, 19, was jailed for four years and six months at Cardiff Crown Court today. His friend Amy Salter was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Both were banned from owning a dog indefinitely.
It took seven rounds of bullets to kill Beast after the incident last year
Just days before the attack the dog was caught on camera attacking shoppers. Straining at its lead, dragging around its owner and lunging at pedestrians including a young boy on a scooter, this is the terrifying moment a child-killer dog named Beast gave a chilling hint of the tragedy that would follow.
Tragedy struck when the raging animal killed the schoolboy inside a property near Hayden's home in South Wales. Armed police needed to fire seven rounds to kill the dog, which attacked Jack without provocation.
Jack had been playing with a friend after school when they went to the house where Beast was roaming around downstairs and then bit his face, head and neck.
Hayden, 19, was jailed for four years and six months at Cardiff Crown Court today. His friend Salter was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Both were banned from owning a dog indefinitely. After Beast's death it was later found to be an 115lb American Bully or XL Bully, which are not on the banned breed list.
CCTV footage shown in court revealed the animal attacked shoppers and lunged at children outside the local shop. One incident was 24 hours before Jack died, and showed the owners laughing.
In one clip, Hayden is seen holding Beast on a lead when he jumps up and bites passer-by Michael Ball.
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