Fatal dog mauling ‘scarier than a horror movie’ as aggressive staffy tried to attack neighbours
DNA evidence could play a key role in the investigation into the devastating death of a father, who was killed by his son’s dog in a vicious attack that shocked friends and family.
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A man who owned a dog that viciously killed his father in front of his mother at their Mill Park home is facing a police probe.
Victoria Police are investigating after Leo Biancofiore was fatally mauled by his adult son Mark Biancofiore’s dog Junior on Wednesday night.
Initial reports suggested the dog was an American staffordshire terrier but it was not registered with the local council.
Questions have been raised if it could have been a restricted breed like a pit bull.
Under the Crimes Act, the owner of a dangerous, menacing or restricted breed dog that fails to keep the dog under control and kills a person faces a maximum of 10 years behind bars.
American staffordshire terrier club president Don Campbell said it was impossible to know what breed the dog was without a DNA test or pedigree papers to prove it.
According to the expert, in some photos, the dog looked like the suggested breed but not in others.
“But I couldn’t even if I saw 100 photos,” Mr Campbell said.
The dog was put down by the council on Wednesday night and no DNA tests were ordered, but police investigators can make requests after death.
The penalty would be less severe if the dog is not found to be a declared dangerous or restricted breed dog.
The 29-year-old owner posted to social media about his beloved pet five years ago, sarcastically labelling the american staffordshire terrier “absolutely vicious”.
“This is my boy Junior,” Mark wrote in 2014.
“Absolutely vicious dog.
“Hugs you so tight you can’t breathe, smile that makes your heart melt when you see it and kisses that make it all better.”
The post on the I Love Staffies Facebook page was accompanied by three pictures of Mark and Junior.
REASON BEHIND TRIPLE-0’S DELAYED RESPONSE REVEALED
Urgent calls made to triple-0 by neighbours working frantically to save dog attack victim were delayed in being answered.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said the calls were answered in about 40 seconds, rather than the usual six or seven.
“That was due largely before of the storms and the weather that was occurring, so there was a high demand at the time,” Ms Neville said.
“This has been a really distressing incident for the family and the neighbours.
“Forty seconds would have seemed like a very long time in those circumstances.”
She refuted claims by neighbours that some of their calls went unanswered.
“We’ve been in contact with ESTA the triple-0 line that all call calls were answered,” Ms Neville said.
“I think there were three neighbours who rang in, all three calls were answered.”
SON ‘DEVASTATED’ OVER DAD’S DEATH
A distraught son whose dog mauled his father to death is struggling to comprehend the tragedy.
Family say the American staffordshire terrier that killed Leo Biancofiore had never behaved aggressively.
The dog, Junior, attacked Mr Biancofiore and wife Donata in the backyard of their Mill Park home on Wednesday night.
Mrs Biancofiore, who desperately tried to save her husband, underwent emergency surgery and was last night stable in Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The couple’s nephew last night told the Herald Sun their 29-year-old son Mark Biancofiore, who owned Junior, was devastated.
“We’ve got to wait until she (Donata) gets out of surgery and then we’ll go from there,” the nephew said.
“We want to let her recover and give my little cousin a bit of space because he’s pretty distraught.”
Mr Biancofiore and Junior loved each other, the nephew said.
“My uncle loved the dog,” he said. “The dog loved my uncle. The dog was never aggressive.”
The state government said the incident would be investigated and would “take any recommendations seriously”, amid calls for tougher restrictions and even bans on potentially dangerous breeds.
Relatives are supporting one another through the grief.
“All the family is coming together and we are going to help each other out, help each other through,” the nephew said.
“It’s an unfortunate situation that’s happened.”
Police were called to the Ancona Drive address at 6.40pm after neighbours heard Mrs Biancofiore screaming.
Neighbours watched her try to rip the killer dog off her husband.
By the time they arrived to help, Mr Biancofiore, unable to protect himself due to physical disabilities, was dead.
It is not yet clear what injuries he suffered.
The couple’s next door neighbour hailed Donata, also known as Donna, a hero.
“There was nothing we could do,” he said. “We were hanging off the fence. She (Donata) was the real hero.
“She put her life on the line. She was trying to fight him off.”
Neighbours said they had been wary of the dog. It was euthanised late Wednesday.
HORROR AS ‘THE SCREAMING STOPPED’
Radenko and Danielle Subotic said they thought someone was being murdered or beaten when they heard screams coming from the couple’s home.
“I heard the screaming from my backyard,” Mrs Subotic said. “I saw him on the ground.
“The dog was on top of the body of the man.”
Mrs Biancofiore was screaming and trying to get the dog off her husband.
“The lady, she tried to help,” Mrs Subotic said. “She tried to get the dog off the body of the husband.”
Mr and Mrs Subotic’s son said he and his sister sprayed the dog with a hose as it leapt up to bite them over their 2m fence.
“It was so scary — not even in a horror movie have I seen that,” the young man said.
“It sunk in when the screaming stopped that someone had not made it.”
The attack ended when police fired two shots.
The terrifying ordeal lasted about 40 minutes, according to the Subotics’ son, who tried to save the couple.
“I was sitting at the computer and I heard Junior start and heard a faint scream and I instantly knew something was not right,” he said.
The young man wanted to jump across the fence to help but his family pulled him back.
“It’s just so hard when you’re on the other side of a fence,” he said.
“There was a lady on the other side screaming for our help.”
Just last week, the young man heard Junior banging on the fence.
Mrs Biancofiore told him at the time that the dog had been set off by something and had gone wild.
At that stage, it was not aggressive towards her, but showed signs of what it was capable of.
“I’m sort of spewing I didn’t knock on her door and chat to her about Junior,” he said.
Another neighbour who witnessed the attack over their fence said Mrs Biancofiore was bitten on the face.
Mr Biancofiore had been using crutches and a wheelchair in recent weeks due to an injury, police said.
“He was a completely dependent person,” Mrs Subotic said.
“He was unable to help himself.”
Neighbours reported seeing him out and about in a mobility scooter and said he walked with a limp.
Adriana Ackar, another neighbour, said Mr Biancofiore was kind to her children.
“He was a lovely, lovely man,” she said.
“Only last week, the kids kicked the ball over the fence and they went round and he was like yeah, yeah, I’ll throw it over. He was always outside doing things.”
POLICE FIRED SHOTS
Police fired shots after they arrived at the property to stop it further attacking Mrs Biancofiore and other family members, with neighbours saying they heard two gunshots.
The animal was inside the house for several hours as police and a ranger tried to capture it.
Owners of five dog breeds, including pit bulls, must comply with a range of tough restrictions because their pets are deemed potentially dangerous.
American Staffordshire terriers are not on the list, with experts saying they are not typically aggressive.
A government spokeswoman said it was unlikely the breed would be added to a shortlist of restricted breeds.
The dog was not registered in the City of Whittlesea and the council had received no reports about it.
“This is a terribly sad situation and we offer our deepest condolences to the family,” the council’s director of partnerships, planning and engagement Liana Thompson said.
“The dog was euthanised (Wednesday) night and council will continue to assist Victoria Police with their investigation.”
The daughter-in-law of the man who was attacked consented for the dog to be destroyed, Senior-Sergeant Glenn Parker told reporters on Wednesday night.
He said it was unusual for the dog to attack.
“The dog belongs to the occupant’s son, the dog’s been here for quite some time,” Sen-Sgt Parker said.
“He (the dog) will be taken to a veterinarian, and my understanding is that the owner of the dog has actually consented to that dog being put down.
“It’s an older dog, it’s quite familiar with all of the members of the family and my understanding is it’s out of character for the dog.”
Barking could be heard coming from the property before the dog was loaded into an animal control van shortly before 10.30pm on the night.
A neighbour who lives behind the property said he heard “deafening” screams.
“It’s a freak accident,” he said — holding his arm up to his waist to indicate the size of the dog.
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Neighbours told the Herald Sun that Junior spent the majority of its life at the Biancofiore’s home, despite being their son’s dog.
A neighbour, who did want to be named, said she never liked the dog and that it was always barking.
One witness said: “The dog was going nuts.”
Another said he was walking near the property when he heard gun shots and ran over to find police entering the yard.
He said he knew Mr Biancofiore, adding: “He was a nice bloke.”
A report will be prepared for the coroner.