Esther Martin’s children lashed out at Ashley Warren after he left the frail 68-year-old to look after a pack of 10 powerful dogs, saying: “Who would deserve to be ripped apart by two dogs?”
A rapper’s “arrogance” led to the brutal death of a gran after she was mauled to death by his hulking XL bully dogs, her daughters have said.
Esther Martin’s children lashed out at Ashley Warren after he left the frail 68-year-old to look after a pack of 10 powerful dogs. Vulnerable 5ft 3ins Esther suffered “dozens and dozens” of bite wounds, which led to a catastrophic bleed, just two days after the dogs were banned in England and Wales.
Speaking to the BBC, Esther’s daughter, Sonia Martin-Coppen, 49, said: “They shouldn’t have been in the property, they should have been re-homed. Mr Warren’s arrogance is what caused this. It’s not a lack of knowledge – he knew the law was coming in.” She added: “Who would deserve to be ripped apart by two dogs, knowing that’s what is happening?”
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Warren, 41, was yesterday convicted of owning an XL Bully dog that mauled his mother-in-law to death in February 2024 in the first fatal attack case since the breed was banned. Warren asked Esther – who had mobility issues – to look after two XL Bullies named Beauty and Bear and eight puppies in Jaywick, Essex, so he could shoot a music video in London.
Footage from a nearby CCTV camera captured screams coming from the house in Hillman Avenue and dogs barking “in a frenzied state” after the attack. Warren was found guilty of owning or being in charge of Bear and possessing a knife at Chelmsford Crown Court.
“She had raised concerns about the dogs,” Mrs Martin-Coppen said. “The fact they were big; the fact they were XLs; the fact they were banned; the fact they were not under control and would jump up at people.”
Martin’s other daughter, Kelly Fretwell, said her mother had “waddled” when she walked, had a limp, arthritis and had undergone two hip replacements. The combined weight of all 10 dogs inside Warren’s house had been up to 190kg (29st 13lb), prosecutors had told the jury.
“It didn’t take a brain surgeon or a rocket scientist to know that she was not a fit and able person [to care for the dogs],” Mrs Fretwell said. Martin-Coppen added: “We are not talking small animals. We are talking pure muscle, pure power, untrained, cooped up in a small house.”
Police had been to the property in Jaywick about an unrelated matter 11 days before the attack. In a video recording played to jurors Warren told the officer “it’s a shame about the laws” and “my boy’s got papers already”.
Prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC told the jury at Warren’s trial: “If that was a reference to an exemption certificate, that was a lie.” Warren accepted in court that he did not hold exemption certificates and had not applied for any. In the footage, XL bullies played as Warren told the officer that the public perception of the breed is “mad to me”.
He added: “These dogs are so friendly and loyal it’s unbelievable. It’s like I’ve only seen them ever attack people when someone’s tried to attack the owners.” He also told the officer: “You get them little poodles that come up to you and go rah, rah, rah, you know – they’re more aggressive.”
Warren pleaded not guilty to being the owner of a dog named Bear which caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place, and to being a person in charge of a dog named Beauty which did the same.
Jurors found him guilty of being the owner of Bear by a majority of 11 to one. He was cleared of being in charge of Beauty on the day of the attack.
Warren, now of Addlestone, Surrey, said in evidence that he “never seen this coming in a million years” and “I would never have left Esther with the dogs if I thought they were dangerous”. Chelmsford Crown Court heard the dogs were “unpredictable, towering, muscular” animals.
One of the adult animals was more than 7st and the other 6st – meaning it was a “ludicrous suggestion” to believe Esther was fit to control them. As well as her mobility issues, the grandmother had “little to no experience” of being left alone with them for a prolonged period of time.
Mr Paxton said: “Ashley Warren expected Esther to be able to handle and control these two adult XL bully dogs, as well as their eight puppies, with the weight, size, power and unpredictability they possessed, with no or minimal training.
“Given Esther’s age and her mobility issues, as well as other factors, Esther was clearly not a fit and proper person to look after these ten dogs in that situation, but no doubt, members of the jury, it suited this defendant to have her do so, so he could pursue his own agenda that day.
“It was, you may think, a tragedy waiting to happen, given the imbalance that arose between 68-year-old Esther, short in stature, and the towering power of these banned XL bully dogs.”
Warren will be sentenced at a later date.
