[News] Dad who owns 19 dogs admits being in control of the one that killed his three month old daughter

A man whose husky dog mauled his three-month-old daughter to death has admitted to being in charge of the dog.

 

Kyra King was killed by her dad’s out-of-control dog, named Blizzard in a forest in Lincolnshire, UM on March 6 2022.They had taken their child out in her pram at around 11pm while they raced their 19 husky dogs in the forest when Blizzard broke free and attacked the baby.

Kyra suffered injuries to her neck and head and died at the scene. Her parents Vince King, 55, and Karen Alcock, 41, were arrested.

 

On Thursday, June 1, Vince pleaded guilty to being in charge of the dog moments before he was due to stand trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

Vince, who initially denied the charge, made the call after discussions with his barrister, Siward James-Moore.

Alcock, King’s former partner, pleaded guilty to the same charge in December last year.

The court heard how the huskies had been loaded into King and Alcock’s van, with the rear of the vehicle tweaked to contain lockable cages for the canines.

 

One group of the dogs, who were used for racing, were racing around the forest pulling homemade sleds.

But as the teams were changed from the van, Blizzard leapt over a partition separating the cages from the van’s front seats.The dog ran out of the passenger front seat and attacked Kyra in her pram who was outside the van.

In court, Jeremy Janes said that it was ‘not possible to separate’ the couple’s involvement in Kyra’s death as they were at the scene.

 

‘No one was in control of Blizzard because both were at the rear of the van getting the second sled team ready,’ Janes said.

‘By default, that would make Mr King liable in law as the owner of Blizzard.’

 

‘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.’

Lincolnshire Police responded to reports that the baby girl had been seriously injured at 11:13pm.

 

But despite the best efforts of paramedics, Kyra died at the scene.

‘This was a lovely child that was tragically lost,’ Janes added, ‘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.

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.’

Both King and Alcock will be sentenced on August 14 at the same court.