An 84-year-old man met a tragic end after being viciously attacked by an illegal XL Bully dog, described as “powerful” and treating him “like prey,” when he mistakenly entered the dog’s owner’s driveway, a court was told today.
John McColl succumbed to his injuries following an assault by the “dangerous and aggressive” animal in Warrington, Cheshire, in February of the previous year, as relayed to the jury.
The defenseless elderly man was “devoured” by the unfed dog, prompting police to shoot the animal ten times to subdue it, according to testimonies at Liverpool Crown Court.
Sean Garner, 31, has confessed to owning two XL Bully dogs—Toretto and Malibu—without possessing the necessary exemption certificate.
However, he contends that he is not guilty of being responsible for a dog dangerously out of control that caused Mr. McColl’s fatal injuries.
Prosecutor David Birrell presented the jury with harrowing details of the wounds Mr. McColl suffered, leading to his death in the hospital a month following the brutal attack by Toretto.
It had ‘eaten him alive’, he said, adding that parts of Mr McColl’s face were found in its stomach when vets cut it open.
‘It guarded him as if he were his prey. It had savaged him.
Sean Garner, 31, admits being in possession of two XL Bully dogs without an exemption certificate but denies being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control and inflicted fatal injuries on John McColl, 84
John McColl, 84, wandered onto Sean Garner’s driveway in Warrington, Cheshire on February 24, 2025 when the XL bully attacked and savaged him
‘There was no food in the dog’s stomach, just part of John McColl’s face. And bits of plastic.’
‘The dog had attacked Mr McColl and it would just not let him go,’ he added.
‘People tried to help him – grown men with weapons hitting the dog – but it was no use.’
Mr Birrell said armed police officers shot the dog nine times with a pistol and once with a shotgun.
He said: ‘That is how much ammunition was required to neutralise this large, powerful and savage dog.’
He said that police found another XL Bully called Malibu on the premises and ‘did not take any chances’ so they shot the second animal.
Mr Birrell said that after the attack, Garner ‘kept his distance from the police who wanted to speak to him’.
He contacted family members who advised him to lie, and ‘made light of the situation and made jokes while doctors were trying to save Mr McColl’s life’.
Garner (pictured arriving at Liverpool Crown Court for his trial) claimed the dog had never shown any aggression, jurors were told
Police vehicles pictured in after the attack on 84-year-old John McColl
Garner handed himself into the police two days after the attack and claimed the dog had never shown any aggression, the court heard.
Mr Birrell said the claim was a lie because Toretto had fought with Malibu and had injured one member of Garner’s family.
He also claimed for six months that the dogs were not the XL Bully breed until admitting they were.
Mr Birrell said that Garner was expected to claim that the dogs were kept locked in a locked tool shed.
But there was evidence from neighbours that they were kept on a patio which was covered in dog mess, jurors were told.
Garner also claimed that the patio had a metal gate which was locked with a bolt, but photographs of the gate showed no bolt, the prosecutor said.
Mr Birrell said: ‘This large and powerful dog could very easily have pawed and opened the latch and attacked someone.
‘That is probably what happened.
‘However the dog escaped, after it has escaped, it was dangerously out of control, and whilst it was dangerously out of control, it attacked and killed John McColl.’
Mr Birrell said that text messages from Garner proved that he knew the dog was dangerous and aggressive and he admitted that ‘it was missing a few nuts and bolts.’
He said: ‘And yet he kept the dog, knowing that it was missing a few nuts and bolts.’
The jury heard that Garner had failed to feed the dog properly, which caused it to become irritable and aggressive.
A dog expert would tell the court that Toretto was guarding Mr McColl ‘as if it were his food.’
Mr Birrell said that Garner was an ‘irresponsible and reckless owner’ who also planned to breed XL Bully dogs ‘to make money’.
He added: ‘He may try to argue that he was not responsible because Mr McColl entered his driveway, but that does not absolve him of responsibility.
‘All sorts of people might enter your driveway – postmen, Amazon delivery drivers, a child retrieving a ball. The possibilities are endless.
‘But it is not acceptable for your dog to attack someone and kill them, just because they enter your driveway.’
The trial continues.
