Winsford man banned from owning dogs for five years

A man from Winsford, who claimed he killed his dog in self-defence, has been banned from owning dogs for five years.

Ian Williams, 19, appeared at Chester Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 22nd April where he was handed an order that disqualifies him from owning, keeping or controlling a dog for five years.

The court heard on 25th May 2023, Cheshire Police received an anonymous phone call reporting that Williams had stabbed and killed his American Bulldog after it had attacked him at an address in Chester where he had been staying.

Later that day, officers from Cheshire Police attended the address on Clover Place and, during a search of the area, came across a disturbed area of turf in the garden. After digging down, officers located a deceased dog that had been wrapped in a bloody duvet sheet.

Following this discovery, Crime Scene Investigators searched the address. They found traces of blood on a door handle to the bedroom at the top of the stairs and apparent blood staining on the carpet in the doorway of the bedroom. Partially bloodstained footprints on the floor in the hallway at the top of the stairs were also found.

Officers would then locate Williams at his address on Nixon Drive, Winsford, where he was arrested. During this, he showed officers the clothes he had been in at the time of the killing, told them that he had thrown the knife he had used to kill the dog away and that he did not have a choice to kill the dog as it had attacked him. He denied causing the animal any intentional suffering.

Despite this, in custody, Williams answered "no comment" to all questions posed to him but did provide a written statement confirming that he did stab the dog but did so as he had no choice as it was attacking him.

He was released while officers conducted further enquiries, which included assessing his phone and conducting a necropsy on the deceased animal. Phone data would reveal that Williams had a number of detailed dog anatomy images stored on his device.

Williams voluntarily attended a police interview to discuss this new evidence. However, he would, again, respond with "no comment" to everything he was asked. Officers did notice, however, that on several occasions Williams was seen smirking and rolling his eyes in response to their questions.

He would be subsequently charged with causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and, after realising there was an overwhelming amount of evidence against him, pleaded guilty to the offence in court on 21st March.

On top of his ban from owning dogs, Ian Williams was also given a Community Order and must now complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Following his sentencing, Detective Sergeant Helen Newman said:

"Animals are reliant on their owners to ensure their needs are met and they are kept safe and healthy. Owning an animal is a privilege and ensuring appropriate care is a key part of the responsibility we have when looking after them.

"Despite his initial denials that he killed his pet in self-defence, the evidence we found against Ian Williams proved otherwise, and that Williams killed the animal in what was a deliberately cruel attack.

"Our evidence gathered left him with no choice but to plead guilty and I am glad to see that Williams has today been held accountable for his actions. Alongside his community service, most importantly, he will be unable to own or keep any breed of dog until the year 2030."