Owner who tried frantically to save woman after his three dogs viciously mauled her breaks his silence about the ‘haunting’ day: ‘It will be with me for the rest of my life’

  • Amanda Carmichael was killed by unregistered American Staffordshire X dogs 
  • Dogs’ owner George Cooksley said his ‘heart goes out to Ms Carmichael’s family’ 
  • Cooksley, who was prosecuted by the local council, said it will haunt him forever 

The owner of three dogs who mauled a mum-of-three to death has spoken about the ‘haunting’ day after he was found guilty of breaching animal safety laws.

Amanda Carmichael was killed by the unregistered American Staffordshire-cross dogs in Maryborough, Queensland in June 2021.

The dogs’ owner George Cooksley, who faced court on Friday over the incident, said his ‘heart goes out to her family’.

Cooksley, who was prosecuted by the Fraser Coast Regional Council, said what he saw will haunt him forever.

He was fined more than $17,000 and convicted on all the charges he faced. 

George Cooksley (pictured) said his 'heart goes out to' the family of the woman his dogs killed

George Cooksley (pictured) said his ‘heart goes out to’ the family of the woman his dogs killed

He reportedly hid his dogs – Tonka, Rebel and Magoo – in the back of a friend’s property to avoid them being found during an inspection of his social housing home.

When he went back for them he found Ms Carmichael had been attacked by his dogs, who were not desexed or microchipped, the Fraser Coast Chronicle reported.

She died before medical help arrived, and the dogs were put down later that day.  

Cooksley cooperated with police, helping them to control the dogs after they had killed Ms Carmichael, the court heard.

‘Of my dogs, I think Tonka was the most aggressive,’ he reportedly told police. 

Though Ms Carmichael had let herself into the backyard where she was attacked and killed, the court heard Cooksley could have done more to meet obligations around keeping dangerous dogs.

His lawyer, Travis George, said Cooksley gave first aid to Ms Carmichael.

Ms Carmichael (pictured) had sometimes been homelessness and suffered from drug abuse

Ms Carmichael (pictured) had sometimes been homelessness and suffered from drug abuse

Outside the court Cooksley said the incident would haunt him forever.

‘My heart goes out to her family – it was just a tragedy, that’s all,’ he said.

‘It will be with me for the rest of my life.’ 

Ms Carmichael – who had sometimes been homelessness and suffered from drug abuse – was described by her family and friends as a social person who loved to laugh.

The three dogs (one pictured above following the attack) were unregistered and had not been desexed

The three dogs (one pictured above following the attack) were unregistered and had not been desexed

Advertisement

DailyMail

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Jordan Neely’s family to file wrongful death suit against Daniel Penny

Family of homeless man Jordan Neely who was put in a fatal…

‘If you are reading this, I am dead’: Author Wendy Mitchell, 68, dies after years documenting her brave battle with dementia – leaving heartbreaking open letter to be posted after her death, revealing she ‘simply decided not to eat or drink any more’

Author Wendy Mitchell has died years after documenting her brave battle with…

Lee Anderson warns ‘we are losing control’ of London to ‘extremists’ as suspended Tory MP says he won’t apologise for attacking Sadiq Khan ‘while I’ve got a breath in my body’

Under-fire MP Lee Anderson insisted tonight that ‘we are losing control’ of…

Mark Latham’s homophobic tweet about gay politician Alex Greenwich

The ‘appalling’ Mark Latham tweet directed at a rival who called him…