A well known Pallister child and animal abuser, Hannah Williams, who starved and neglected two dogs, resulting in one death in the back garden for several days and the other being ‘lost,’ has not been incarcerated.
Hannah Williams, also known as Hannah Willington, 33, from Pallister, Middlesbrough, was reported to the RSPCA when a member of the public submitted a photograph of an emaciated Malinois-type dog in the backyard of her residence, which she lives with Leejay Brown who is suspected was involved in or knew about the abuse.
Deputy Chief Inspector Emma Stainthorpe visited the residence on 9 August 2024, and conversed with Hannah Williams.
Hannah Williams informed the inspector that the two dogs, Reba and Zena, had experienced diarrhoea for an extended period and suspected they had been poisoned.
In a written statement to the court, the officer stated: “[Hannah Williams] opened the rear door but refused to exit.”
Adjacent to the garden, by an antiquated sofa, I discovered Reba, a female tan French Bulldog. Her head was positioned on wooden boards, and faecal matter was present around her posterior.
“All of Reba’s bones were clearly visible. She had fly eggs to the right of her muzzle and in her left nostril.
She was laid next to a large pile of faeces. I couldn’t see any food or water available to the dogs. I couldn’t find any sign of the Malinois called Zena.
Hannah Williams said she always escaped and pointed towards a large wooden fence at the end of the garden.
“I said I didn’t believe she could have jumped that high due to her current condition.”
The inspector immediately searched the local area for Zena but there was no trace of her.
The police subsequently seized the body of the French bulldog as evidence. Reba’s body was sent away for a post mortem examination.
The main finding was that of emaciation, exhibited by severe loss of skeletal muscle and absence of fat.
There was no food in the dog’s intestine and the distended gall bladder indicating that she had not eaten recently.
A vet who reviewed the report and gave evidence in the case, said: “It is my opinion that Reba has been caused unnecessary suffering.
This suffering will have been ongoing for at least one month and it is my opinion that her needs have not been met in that she was not provided with an adequate diet.
“There is no evidence that Reba was suffering from sickness and diarrhoea. Even if she had been it would not have caused this degree of emaciation in two to three days. This animal had looked and been emaciated for at least one month.
“The photograph provided by Inspector Stainthorpe show the Shepherd type dog Zena. This dog is visibly emaciated, even from a photograph. The only plausible explanation for two dogs being this emaciated simultaneously is starvation.”
In interview with the RSPCA, Hannah Williams said both dogs were fed but Rena did not always eat and said neither animal had recently been taken to a vet.
Hannah Williams said both dogs had suffered from sickness and diarrhoea and Rena had only started looking “that bad” two to three days before her death and Williams wasn’t “taking the blame” for hurting the dogs.
Local community wardens made door-to-door enquiries about Zena, and the dog warden and kennels in the area were also alerted about her disappearance, but sadly she was never found.
She was handed ONLY a 24-week custodial sentence, suspended for two years. £954 costs; £187 victim surcharge. Disqualified from keeping animals for life but can appeal after 20 years.
A local said “She only cares about herself, and trying to make herself look nice. She never showed those dogs any love” [MAYBE SOMETHING COULD HAVE BEEN DONE ABOUT IT, RATHER THAN JUST WATCH?]
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