Man charged with manslaughter after dog-bite death in Wakefield

Lee Ellis charged with manslaughter over death of James Judge, who was bitten by German shepherd on footpath

A 55-year-old man has appeared in court charged with manslaughter over the death of a man who was bitten by a dog on a footpath.

Bradford magistrates court heard on Tuesday that James Judge was bitten by a dog belonging to Lee Ellis on Saturday afternoon after an apparent dispute between the two men about right of way.

West Yorkshire police said officers were called to reports of an altercation on the old trainline footpath off Blacker Lane in the Calder Grove area of Wakefield at around 1.30pm, where Judge, 55, was found to have been bitten by a dog. He was taken to hospital, but died of his injuries.

Ellis was arrested by police at the scene and charged on Tuesday morning with manslaughter and being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury resulting in death. Appearing in Bradford magistrates court later that day wearing a grey jumper and tracksuit, he broke down in tears and spoke only to confirm his name and address.

The district judge Mark Daley bailed Ellis until his next appearance at Leeds crown court on 16 September, on the condition he spends every night at his home address.

Rob Fones, representing Ellis, said there had been “a verbal altercation in regards to right of way” and, despite not being asked to enter pleas, informed the court that the case would go to trial.

The court heard from the prosecutor Georgina Fishwick that an initial postmortem had been conducted, but had been unable to determine the exact number of dog bites Judge had sustained before dying.

West Yorkshire police said that Ellis’s dog, a German shepherd, had been seized as part of the investigation and was being held in police kennels. It is common practice in the UK for dogs involved in violent crimes such as murder, manslaughter and grievous bodily harm to be euthanised by order of a court or police force.