Ashley Warren is sentenced to 10 years in prison for owning one of two XL bully dogs that mauled his mother-in-law to death
The dog, named Bear, killed Esther Martin while she was at Warren's home in Essex in February 2024 - two days after the breed was banned
The judge describes the incident as a "sustained and repeated attack" that lasted "at least 12 minutes", and bans Warren from owning a dog for life
Martin's daughter tells the court her mother was "the centre of the family" and her death has left a void "which cannot be filled"
Warren became the first person to be charged with XL bully-related offences that came into force in February 2024 - these are the rules
The judge begins by saying the victim was a "much-loved" mother and grandmother, who was "kind, fun-loving, funny, unique and one-in-a-million".
The court has heard "deeply moving" statements from her daughters and son, the judge adds.
Press watch live above to follow along.
Laura Foster
at Chelmsford Crown Court
In the break from proceedings, I've seen Esther Martin's daughters having a quick word with Warren's mother.
Emotions are high in the courtroom.
Laura Foster
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Allan Compton KC tells the court: “It was Ashley Warren’s genuine feeling that the dogs were not aggressive”
Mitigation has finished and the judge has risen.
The judge adjourns for a brief pause.
We previously reported that lawyers were adjourning for an hour's lunch break, but there was miscommunication in the court.
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Allan Compton KC tells the court: “He [Ashley Warren] wasn’t there. There was nothing he could do from 80 miles (129km) away."
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Allan Compton KC concedes that “if ever there was a case for banning XL bullies, of course it is this one”, but told the court the two dogs had been living with Ashley Warren and his partner for about a year.
In that time, they saw nothing about the pets that gave them "any inkling" they would react the way they did that day.
The barrister says the defence accepts that Warren leaving Esther Martin in charge of his dog was “far too much for her… he should never have done it and he will pay the price for it”.
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Warren's defence barrister is rejecting the claims that his client's dog was trained to be aggressive.
"We do not accept the assertion that Bear was trained to be aggressive… there is no reliable evidence that he was, and a wealth of evidence suggesting the opposite," he tells the court.
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
As defence barrister Allan Compton KC makes his mitigating arguments, he says that nothing he says "is to undermine or dilute the impact on the family of Esther Martin… the facts and circumstances of her death are simply awful".
Laura Foster
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Ashley Warren's defence barrister has now begun mitigation.
This is where he argues for the sentence to be lower.
Laura Foster
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Christopher Paxton KC is now addressing the judge and explaining why Warren should be given a higher sentence.
He feels there is a high level of culpability in this case because the dog was a known banned breed and because the victim, Esther Martin, died of her injuries.
He also says Martin was a vulnerable person, who didn't have sufficient experience with this kind of dog and who should have felt safe in Warren's home.
He stated the sustained and repeated nature of the attack and the fact a child was present, should also be counted as aggravating factors.
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Christopher Paxton KC tells the court that Ashley Warren has nine previous convictions for 15 offences, including robbery, assault and breaching a non-molestation order.
In 2015, he was convicted of assault causing actual bodily harm and affray - putting him in breach of an additional discharge order - and was sentenced to 56 weeks imprisonment.
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
A victim impact statement from Paul Martin, Esther Martin's son, is being read by Christopher Paxton KC.
“When I received this news [of my mother’s death], a part of me died too,” Martin writes.
“I have not been the same person since. It feels like I’m suffering a life sentence through no fault of my own," he adds.
“The past two years have been a living nightmare for me… I no longer recognise the person that I am today.”
Laura Foster
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Ashley Warren looked directly at Martin's daughter, Sonia Martin-Coppen, as she read her victim impact statement.
He showed no emotion as Martin-Coppen cried on multiple occasions as she described how her mother's death had affected her.
Now statements from other family members are being read aloud by the prosecution barrister and Warren continues to look straight ahead.
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Christopher Paxton KC reads out a victim impact statement on behalf of Kelly Fretwell, Martin's other daughter.
“Mum was the centre of the family... I miss her terribly," she says, adding her death "has left a void in my family which cannot be filled".
“I feel like a shell of a person,” she adds.
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Martin-Coppen says that the “last conversation I had with her [Martin] was about setting a date for my wedding… I’ve missed out on my mum seeing me in my wedding dress".
Laura Foster
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Court proceedings were temporarily paused after a verbal argument broke out in the public gallery between Ashley Warren's family and another man.
One man has been removed from the courtroom by security guards.
The proceedings have now restarted.
Laura Foster
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Martin-Coppen says she is fearful and angry whenever she sees XL bully dogs and that they evoke "fear and panic in me that is hard to contain".
"I will be constantly wary and anxious of these animals," she says.
Laura Foster
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Martin-Coppen, one of Esther's daughters, says her mother has become "the face of XL bully dogs deaths".
"I see mum's face flash up on the news all the time.
"It constantly reminds me that mum is no longer here and the devastating way in which she was taken from us," she says.
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
We are hearing an emotional witness impact statement from Sonia Martin-Coppen.
“I wake, hearing mum’s screams for help, knowing that not once did Ashley Warren call for police or an ambulance,” she says.
"Ashley Warren’s only regard was for himself."
Stuart Woodward
at Chelmsford Crown Court
Before sentencing begins, Warren has had four summary-only charges put to him.
He pleaded guilty to the first two - owning or being the custodian of a banned breed - but pleaded not guilty to the third and fourth charges, denying that he had neglected the animal welfare needs of both his dog Bear and his then-partner’s dog Beauty.
The CPS has decided to offer no evidence on the latter two charges.
Warren is being sentenced today for one count of owning a dog that caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place, an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
He is also due to be sentenced for possessing a knife in a public place.