Woman, 33, was killed by her dog AFTER pet launched at her neck when she ‘suffered epileptic fit

A woman was mauled to death by her pet dog. An inquest has heard she may have suffered an epileptic seizure which triggered the attack from the dog.

Kelly Reilly suffered ‘severe injuries’ to her head and throat after being bitten by her American bulldog at her maisonette in Wexford Road in Wood End on July 22. 

REPORT FROM POLICE

A statement from a police officer who attended the scene said that the dog, called Mendoza, had ‘blood around its face’ after the attack. 

West Midlands Police confirmed that the dog was humanely destroyed shortly after.

Ms Reilly’s sister, Kirsty Reilly, said the 33-year-old had loved Mendoza ‘like a baby’ and, having adopted the dog as a puppy in 2022, it had never shown aggressive behaviour before. 

She told Coventry Coroner’s Court: ‘She loved it literally like a baby. She was a lovely dog and if Kelly did not love her as much as she did I would have had her.

‘She was really nice. She would sleep with Kelly in her bedroom.’

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OFFICIAL CAUSE OF DEATH

Coroner Delroy Henry concluded Ms Reilly’s death was an accident after hearing she often suffered with fits ‘out of the blue’ which caused her to collapse ‘with no recollection or control’ before she was mauled by her dog. 

Ms Reilly’s sister added that she had suffered two seizures within six or seven weeks before she died, and one of those lasted eight minutes.

Following the dog bite, Ms Reilly went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at the scene at 1.04pm after 40 minutes of CPR by paramedics.