Overview

• Senior coroner Lincoln Brookes concluded the bite severed an artery, causing traumatic blood loss and multiple organ failure.
• Michelle Hempstead, 34, was bitten at her Southend flat on 29 July 2024 and died the next day at the Royal London Hospital.
• The hearing in Chelmsford on 29 September 2025 accepted partner Samuel West’s account that the incident was an unintended “freak” occurrence while throwing chicken nuggets.
• Essex Police seized both dogs, and because Hempstead was their sole owner, they were disclaimed for destruction.
• Investigators found no suspicious circumstances regarding the partner, and the coroner noted Trigg, a rottweiler-mastiff cross, had no prior history of aggression.