On a wet February evening in Dallam, Warrington, an 84-year-old man who had spent his Monday quietly in his local pub never reached the end of his familiar walk home. Behind a fence on Bardsley Avenue, a neglected XL bully owned by a man who had recently moved into the street waited, and the encounter ended in a death that neighbours could not prevent. The story now unfolds in Liverpool Crown Court, where a jury is asked to weigh not only the animal's violence but what the owner did in the hours that followed.
Dog Owner Blamed Dying Pensioner as He Covered His Tracks From a Pizza Hut Car Park
84-year-old John McColl suffered a prolonged, fatal mauling by an XL bully on his driveway and died after a five-week hospital stay.
He met his girlfriend at Pizza Hut instead of going home
Mark
Why did this case turn so much on what happened after the attack?
Mimi
Because Garner's own messages are in evidence. Within hours he was at a Pizza Hut car park, handing over a phone and sending messages while a man was fighting for his life.
Mark
What did his family suggest?
Mimi
His mother said to claim the dogs were Lauren's. His sister suggested saying he was minding a friend's dog. He did neither.
Luke
Worth being careful there. Those were suggestions in messages. The reporting shows he didn't act on them, so they say something about the family, not proven conduct by him.
Mark
And the delay in handing himself in?
Mimi
Two days. He said he was banned from driving, expected police at his mother-in-law's, and was told by lawyers to wait 24 hours.
Luke
Those are his explanations, and the jury decides whether to accept them. Also, the deleted voice notes couldn't be recovered, so we don't know what they said.
Mark
What about why John turned into the driveway?
Mimi
Nobody knows. He may have turned early or tried to warn the owner about a loose dog.
Luke
Right, that's speculation, and the report says as much. What is documented is the dog's condition: underfed, unwalked, behind an insecure gate, and the breed unregistered since the 2024 ban.
El Pulso
- A quiet pensioner's routine walk turned into a prolonged mauling on his own driveway, with neighbours beating the dog with sticks and a spirit level in a desperate attempt to save him.
- Police arrived in minutes but could not approach the injured man without risking another attack, so every second of waiting became a second of dread.
- Armed officers shot the dog and a second XL bully, and the case widened into a question of who owned the animals and why they were never registered.
- The owner, reached by police, allegedly fled to a Pizza Hut car park, handed his phone away, and tried to shape a story through family messages that are now before the court.
- The trial at Liverpool Crown Court will decide his conduct and the dogs' status, and John McColl's death after five weeks in hospital keeps the case heavy with grief.
On a wet February evening in Dallam, Warrington, an 84-year-old man who had spent his Monday quietly in his local pub never reached the end of his familiar walk home. Behind a fence on Bardsley Avenue, a neglected XL bully owned by a man who had recently moved into the street waited, and the encounter ended in a death that neighbours could not prevent. The story now unfolds in Liverpool Crown Court, where a jury is asked to weigh not only the animal's violence but what the owner did in the hours that followed.
John McColl, 84, spent every Monday in the Hatter pub in Dallam, drinking his pints and talking mostly to the barmaid about the weather. His daughter remembered that his walk home had become a slow shuffle. On 24 February last year, he turned into a driveway on Bardsley Avenue, where a malnourished XL bully named Toretto was waiting behind an insecure gate.
Victor Ferrier heard screams and saw a man face down on the ground. He ran for help, and neighbours Christopher Burton and Geoffrey Chadwick came with a walking stick and a spirit level. They struck the dog again and again, but it would not let go. Geoffrey covered the old man with his jacket and told him police were coming.
Police held back because approaching would have risked another attack. Armed officers arrived about fifteen minutes later and shot the dog, then a second XL bully found in the house. John survived five weeks in hospital before he died.
The dogs' owner, Sean Garner, had moved in only weeks earlier. Rather than come home when police called, he reportedly met his partner at a Pizza Hut car park and handed over his phone. Family messages discussed what to say, and he later surrendered at a police station. The case is now at Liverpool Crown Court, where the jury will consider his conduct and the dogs' unregistered status.
On a wet February afternoon in the Dallam area of Warrington, John McColl, 84, sat in the Hatter pub, as he did every Monday. He took the bus the mile and a half there and drank a Carling and four pints of bitter over about five hours. Barmaid Jane Barber remembered him as very quiet and private, someone who chatted only to her and another regular known as Jaffer, and only about the weather and local goings-on. His daughter, Joanne Percival, described his customary walk home as a shuffle.
That Monday, 24 February last year, was his last trip. His route from the bus stop on Harrison Square to his home in Mullen Close usually took him along Bardsley Avenue, past the house of Sean Garner. Garner, a convicted drug dealer and recovery truck driver, had moved in less than three weeks earlier with his pregnant partner of 14 years, Lauren Lawler, their two young daughters, two XL bullies and a micro bully. He drove a flatbed truck around the country despite being banned from driving.
Shortly before 6.30pm, CCTV from a house across the road recorded John crossing the street and pausing by the high fencing around the front garden. Moments later he walked towards the driveway and out of view. Why he turned in early is unknown. Waiting beyond an insecure gate on a patio stained with faeces was Toretto, an XL bully weighing 7st4lb. He had gone up to 10 hours without food, and then received only some kibble, and had not been walked for weeks.
Victor Ferrier, watching television across the road, heard screams and saw a man face down on the ground. He first thought it was a heart attack, then saw the dog. He grabbed a brush and fetched neighbour Christopher Burton, telling him the man was being ripped apart by a dog. Vic hit the animal repeatedly without effect. Chris, carrying a walking stick, struck it once on the head, and told the jury, who heard him from behind a screen, that he could not get the dog off the man.
Builder Geoffrey Chadwick, out with his three dogs, found the two men in the road, sent his dogs home and returned with a spirit level. He saw the man on his back, the dog beside his head, and heard him say "help me". He struck the dog on the head and back, and it lay down by a black car. Geoff put his jacket over the man's face and told him police were coming.
Police arrived quickly but feared that approaching John would provoke another attack. Body-worn footage captured his cries and an officer saying, "Stay still mate. We're getting you some help." PC Chris Cunliffe told the court the dog behaved as if guarding a toy it had just ripped apart, and that in eight years of policing he had never seen such injuries. Armed officers from East Cheshire arrived about 15 minutes later and shot the dog ten times, nine pistol rounds and one shotgun blast. They also shot a second XL bully, Malibu, found in the kitchen, to take no chances while searching. John spent five weeks in hospital before he could not fight any longer.
Police phoned Garner, told him of a really serious incident and urged him to come home. Instead he met Lawler at a Pizza Hut car park at Junction Nine Retail Park, handing her his phone because hers was not working. She drove the children home and was arrested, held for more than 24 hours. Garner sent a panicked voice note to a family WhatsApp group. His mother, Maureen, replied that he should say the dogs were Lauren's, because she would get a fine while he would go back to jail. His sister Stephanie suggested claiming he was minding a friend's dog. He took neither course. Neither dog had been registered and exempted since the XL bully ban in 2024.
Using Pizza Hut's wifi, Garner messaged his mother-in-law that the dog had been shot, he thought. Voice notes to his sisters were deleted and could not be recovered by police. Stephanie replied that they would not arrest Lauren as she was pregnant, and later answered another note, sent while medics fought to save John, with "Hahahaha. Ffs. Literally though."
Garner surrendered at Runcorn Police Station at lunchtime on 26 February. He said he had expected police at his mother-in-law's in Belle Vale and that lawyers had told him to wait 24 hours. On arrest he asked whether the man was alright, saying he had not been there, and in interview called the dogs family pets who had never shown aggression. The case is being heard at Liverpool Crown Court, where the jury will weigh his conduct and the dogs' unregistered status.
Citas Notables
These were the worst injuries I've ever seen in my policing career.— PC Chris Cunliffe, giving evidence at Liverpool Crown Court
Say they're Lauren's dogs. She'll get off with a fine and you'll go back to jail.— Maureen Garner, in a WhatsApp message to her son Sean Garner
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Crime & Justice