A father has been jailed after his own newborn son was killed by his out-of-control dog.
Elon Jase Ellis-Joynes was just 12 days old when he was mauled to death by the Chow Chow Alsatian cross at his home in Doncaster in September 2020.
He suffered between 30 and 40 puncture wounds and later died in hospital, while the dog, named Teddy, was put down.
His father, Stephen Joynes, 36, admitted a charge of being the owner of a dangerously out-of-control dog, causing injury resulting in death.
The baby’s mother, Abigail Ellis, 28, denied the same charge and was due to stand trial but prosecutors asked for a not guilty verdict to be entered in her case after Joynes took full responsibility.
He was sentenced to four years in prison at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday.
Richard Thyne QC, prosecuting, said Joynes had moved in with mother-of-three Ms Ellis, who appeared "vulnerable" following the death of her previous partner from an illness, and brought the dog with him.
He told the court: "This dog had originally been purchased in January 2019 by the defendant's ex-partner, as a gift for their daughter.
"However, it had become apparent that they could not cope with the dog, and so the defendant accepted ownership as a result."
Mr Thyne described how in the months leading up to the attack, a neighbour had increased his fence to six feet tall to stop the dog from entering his property.
Other neighbours said they had seen Joynes "kick and shout" at the dog on occasions.
The court also heard how on 9 April, five months before the fatal incident, Ms Ellis had taken her son, Henley, to her local GP after he sustained an injury to his right thigh.
While it was initially claimed he had been bitten by a stray dog, later questioning following Elon's death revealed the injury was caused by Teddy.
Mr Thyne said when the family returned home on the afternoon of Elon’s death, the newborn was pushed into the living room in his pram.
He told the court Ms Ellis went upstairs to use the toilet “urgently” while Joynes played in the garden with the children.
Mr Thyne said one of Ms Ellis’s sons noticed the dog was missing and went into the house to investigate.
The court heard the boy found Teddy standing growling over baby Elon, who was lying on the floor.
A post-mortem report found Elon died as a result of severe trauma to his chest and abdomen with injuries “typical of having been repeatedly bitten by a dog”.
The court heard Ms Ellis made a “distressed” 999 call and paramedics attended the house, finding Elon “pale in colour with at least 30 to 40 puncture wounds and two lacerations to his torso and abdomen”.
Mr Thyne told the court: “The defendant and Ms Ellis in interview said he had been left safely in his pram, but the prosecution case is that he must in fact have been placed on the sofa.”
He said the pathologist “would have expected to see head and neck injuries” if the baby had been in his pram, and scientific evidence showed there was blood staining on the floor and sofa, but not in the pram.
The court heard a dog behaviour expert’s conclusion was that the dog caused Elon’s injuries “while investigating what was, to the dog, a strange object”.
In mitigation, Edward Moss said the incident was a tragedy by the "very definition of the word" and that Joynes had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following his son’s death and was receiving counselling.
He said: “What punishment could anyone give to this man that is greater than the punishment he has already been given, and will have for the rest of his life?”
He added that Joynes and Ms Ellis were still together but had lost custody of their children as a result of the incident.
The court heard the dog had been put down following the incident.
Judge Jeremy Richardson QC said Elon’s death was “a tragedy waiting to happen” and that Joynes “should never have kept this dog”.
He told the defendant: “You knew the dog was unmanageable and had vicious characteristics.
“You had made no attempt to socialise the dog with children. All you did was kick and hit the dog, and put it outside.
“You took no effective steps to protect any of the children, least of all your 12-day-old infant son.”
Additional reporting by agencies
