Overview

• Senior Coroner Jon Heath concluded that Savannah Bentham died from injuries inflicted by her family’s XL Bully in their East Heslerton static caravan on November 1, 2024.
• Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Wilkinson told the inquest Savannah was home alone with the dog while her mother sought help to fix a faulty gas canister connection nearby.
• There were no witnesses to the attack, and the family reported no prior aggression from the dog, which they had owned for about four years and described as lazy.
• Police evidence said the animal held a Certificate of Exemption and was compliant with rules including vet registration, microchipping, neutering, and muzzling in public, with no requirement to muzzle at home.
• A post‑mortem on the dog found no physical or pathological cause for a sudden burst of aggression; paramedics pronounced Savannah dead at 4:45pm and the dog was later euthanised by a vet.