April Burbur found guilty of negligently causing serious harm after a dog mauling cost a 60-year-old both her arms
A Palmerston dog owner whose pet ‘ripped’ off a 60-year-old’s arms has been found guilty of criminal negligence over the horror mauling.
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UPDATE Monday, November 25: An “unrestrained, uncontained” dog with a history of savage attacks was found roaming in a Palmerston yard, as a 60-year-old woman lay bleeding on the ground.
On Monday the dog’s owner, April Burbur, was found guilty by a Supreme Court jury of negligently causing serious harm after her 11-year-old American bulldog Mastiff cross, Wilfred, mauled Rhonda Matthews in the early hours of Sunday, April 9, 2022.
Ms Matthews was left with significant injuries, and both of her arms were amputated above the elbow.
After four days of evidence, prosecutor Deborah Mandie said the Palmerston woman was in a rush to go clubbing after her house party, and left Ms Matthews alone with her dog who had a history of “savagely attacking people, particularly strangers”.
“Either she did not check that the dog was still tethered, and she left Wilfred unrestrained and uncontained as he was found on their return,” Ms Mandie alleged.
“Or else she left this dangerous dog inadequately tethered on a slip lead with a makeshift collar that could easily loosen, which was tied to an equally inadequate enclosure.
“She knew that there was a high risk of danger from this dog, in the circumstances she left Ms Matthews.”
The jury heard on the night of the attack, Wilfred was “being funny and baring his teeth”, and needed to be told to “settle down” as he growled at guests.
In her closing remarks, Ms Mandie said this was a clear warning sign of danger, as in the previous 15 months Wilfred had hospitalised both Ms Burbur’s then-partner and her aunt.
Ms Mandie said in one attack, Ms Burbur’s then partner Luke Hayward Ryan was “dragged down the driveway” by Wilfred in a “savage”, “unprovoked” attack.
Ms Burbur later told police Mr Ryan had yelled at her in a “domestic”, which may have left her dog on edge, the jury heard.
“I’m hurting and obviously Wilfred sees that,” she said.
“He says a lot of silly things, and I think the dog picked up on it and attacked him at the time.”
After the second attack on Ms Burbur’s aunt, who was merely drinking and dancing, the dog owner said “Wilfred does not like anyone drinking around him”.
Despite knowing his history, Ms Mandie said the sleeping, intoxicated Ms Matthews was left alone with Wilfred.
Hours later the dangerous dog was found covered in Ms Matthew’s blood.
Ms Mandie suggested that faced with the stranger smelling of alcohol, an unrestrained Wilfred attacked and latched onto her arms.
Ms Mandie said knowing Wilfred’s history, a “reasonable” person would have ensured he was properly contained in a locked room, or tied up with a chain to a secure pole or tree.
But defence barrister Joshua Bach said Ms Burbur took appropriate steps to manage the risks to her guests, saying this was not a trial over her dog’s breed, behaviours or her decision not to euthanise Wilfred.
“You might believe that Ms Burbur should not have owned a dog like Wilfred in the first place — but that is not what she is charged with,” Mr Bach said.
He said Ms Burbur took reasonable steps to tie her dog up, left him in an enclosed space, and was certain her only remaining guest was sleeping in a room.
“Without the benefit of hindsight, you might think there was no obvious danger,” Mr Bach said.
He said there were significant “gaps” in the crown’s case, due to a failure to secure the scene in the immediate wake of the attack and the only witness, Ms Matthews, had no memory of the night.
However after six hours of deliberation the jury unanimously rejected this argument, finding Ms Burbur guilty.
The mother-of-two will return to court for sentencing submissions on December 3.
‘Agitated’ dog pepper sprayed by cops after horror mauling
UPDATE Tuesday, November 19: A Territory cop covered in the blood of a woman whose arms were “ripped off” by a dog had to ward off a second mauling with capsicum spray, a jury has heard.
NT Police acting Senior Sergeant Alexander Noonan recounted to a Supreme Court jury the “chaos” of a Palmerston yard in the wake of a horror dog attack in the early hours of Sunday April 9, 2022.
Mr Noonan was one of the first officers to respond to reports a “lady had her arms chewed off by a dog”, and arrived to find 60-year-old Rhonda Matthews on the ground, blood pooling from “significant injuries” to her arms.
The dog’s owner, April Burbur has pleaded not guilty in the Supreme Court to negligently causing serious harm after her 11-year-old American bulldog Mastiff cross mauled Ms Matthews.
Mr Noonan said he worked to stabilise Ms Matthews before paramedics took her to hospital, around 3am, and then council rangers were allowed to enter the garden.
Mr Noonan said as the blood-smeared older dog was taken by City of Palmerston ranger Nigel Wilson to the council vehicle, Ms Burbur’s two other dogs became “agitated”.
“I remember hearing a noise like someone or something banging into the fence, the sound of a metal fence shaking,” he said.
“And then I remember looking over and seeing the dog outside the fence.”
Mr Noonan told the jury he was unsure if the dogs knocked over the fence or if it fell down, but regardless at least one of the dogs escaped and came running towards him.
“Believing that the dog may attack myself or the council rangers … I deployed a quick burst of my OC spray, capsicum spray, to the dog to deter it,” he said.
Mr Wilson also alleged the pool fencing wasn’t secured, however defence barrister Joshua Bach suggested the dogs could have escaped after the pool gate was left “ajar”.
Mr Wilson acknowledged “it could be possible” they walked through the gate, but stated “from my memory it was through the panel in the pool fence”.
The jury heard the chaos and trauma of that night overwhelmed even seasoned police officers, with one “distressed” cop needing to take the rest of his shift off following the mauling.
“The trauma that the victims had seen certainly lent a lot to the chaos of the scene,” Mr Noonan said.
NT Police Senior constable first class Dog Operations Unit Matthew Unwin was called to review the way Wilfred was likely restrained on that fateful night.
Mr Unwin said it appeared the large dog was restrained by a slip lead, which he said was possible for a dog to “shake off”.
“In any event, any restraint was clearly inadequate as Wilfred did escape,” he said.
Prosecutor Deborah Mandie said this was not the first time Wilfred had attacked someone, indeed there were two other maulings in the 15 months before April 2022.
Ms Mandie said Wilfred bit Ms Burbur’s then-partner Luke Hayward Ryan at a Tiwi home on January 5, 2021 in a “sudden unprovoked attack”.
Again in December 19, 2021 Wilfred mauled Ms Burbur’s aunt, with the older woman forced to go to hospital to treat the puncture marks to her arm, and the “swelling and pain”.
After this second attack the City of Darwin suggested Ms Burbur surrender Wilfred, but while she initially agreed to euthanise Wilfred she later changed her mind.
Just four months later Wilfred attacked Ms Matthews, and was later “destroyed”.
The trial continues.
INITIAL Monday, November 18: A 60-year-old woman who had to undergo a double amputation following a horrific dog attack said she has no memory of that fateful night.
April Burbur faced a Supreme Court jury on Monday to plead not guilty to negligently causing serious harm to Rhonda Matthews in the early hours of Sunday April 9, 2022.
The jury heard that Ms Matthews was alone in the Driver home when she was mauled by Ms Burbur’s 11-year-old American bulldog Mastiff cross, Wilfred.
The large dog’s bites to the woman’s body left her with significant injuries, requiring both arms to be amputated from above the elbow.
Two and a half years after the horrific attack, Ms Matthews told the jury that she had no memory of that evening.
In her recorded police interview the emotional woman struggled to remember any details from that night, telling investigators her next vivid memory was of “waking up in hospital”.
“I can’t even remember the dog biting me,” she said.
Her daughter-in-law Emmeline Spicer told the jury there were three dogs at her cousin’s, Ms Burbur’s party: a mother and her pup wandering around the house, and Wilfred, tied to the inside of the pool fence.
Ms Spicer said at first Wilfred was not doing anything of note, but when other family members arrived he started “growling at all of us”.
“He was old and getting a bit grumpy,” she said.
As the party died down Ms Spicer said she and Ms Burbur wanted to go nightclubbing, but first they needed to help the older woman to get some rest — leaving her alone with the dogs.
“She was dozing off in the chair. I helped her up to the granny flat,” Ms Spicer said.
Ms Matthews told the jury she had drunk two bottles of white wine even before arriving at the party at Ms Burbur’s home.
“I have a habit of falling asleep when I’m drunk; I get tired,” she said.
Under cross examination Ms Matthews told defence barrister Joshua Bach that she could not remember leaving the room, going outside or opening the pool fence where Wilfred was tied up.
When Ms Spicer returned from the night out she found her mother-in-law covered in blood and Wilfred wandering around.
“It looked like he broke the rope,” she said.
Ms Spicer said she was in “shock” confronting the overwhelming scene, and even years later she still felt the “trauma” of the night.
“It’s hard to think about,” she said.
The trial continues on Tuesday and is expected to run for five days.
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Originally published as April Burbur found guilty of negligently causing serious harm after a dog mauling cost a 60-year-old both her arms
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