The death of grandmother Esther Martin in a house packed with XL bully dogs has become one of the most chilling test cases of Britain’s new crackdown on the breed. At the centre of it is aspiring rapper Ashley Warren, who, according to prosecutors, once told police that poodles were more aggressive than his own animals. Now a jury is hearing how those same dogs allegedly turned on his partner’s mother, leaving the 68-year-old dead in what has been described as a tragedy waiting to happen.
The case is not just about one horrific attack. It is about how a man convinced himself his dogs were harmless, how a vulnerable woman ended up minding ten powerful animals, and what responsibility owners carry when the law has already flagged their pets as a serious risk.
The day Esther Martin was left alone with ten XL bullies
Prosecutors say the chain of decisions that ended in Esther Martin’s death started when Ashley Warren left his home in Jaywick to chase a music break. He allegedly asked his partner’s mother, described as a 68-year-old grandmother with mobility issues, to look after two adult XL bully dogs and eight XL bully puppies, as well as a child, while he travelled to London to film a video. The picture painted in court is of a cramped property suddenly turned into an improvised kennel, with Esther expected to manage ten muscular dogs that were already on the political and legal radar as a banned type. That set up, according to the prosecution, created the conditions for disaster inside the Jaywick home.
Jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court have been told that aspiring rapper Ashley Warren left a 68-year-old woman alone with the animals in Jaywick so he could pursue that shoot in London, a decision prosecutors say ignored obvious risks. Another account describes how the defendant asked the 5ft 3in woman to mind the animals so he could travel to London, leaving her in charge of what were described in court as banned XL bully dogs. Another report on the trial says that leaving Esther Martin alone with ten XL bully dogs was described to jurors as a tragedy waiting to, underlining how stark the warnings appear in hindsight.
‘Poodles are more aggressive’: the rapper’s faith in his dogs
Against that backdrop, the comments Ashley Warren is alleged to have made to police sound almost surreal. In interviews played to the court, he is said to have insisted that his XL bullies were “so friendly it is unbelievable” and that he had only ever seen such dogs attack when they were themselves attacked. He reportedly went further, telling officers that in his view poodles were more aggressive than his own animals, and lamenting that it was “a shame about all the laws” being brought in against the breed. Those remarks, delivered before Esther’s death, now sit in sharp contrast to the images of a grandmother fatally mauled in the same house.
One account of the case records that an aspiring rapper whose XL bully dogs later killed a grandmother had previously told police he thought poodles were more than his XL bullies. Another report quotes him telling officers that “these dogs are so friendly it is unbelievable” and that he had only seen them attack when provoked, comments said to have been made at a police station on 3 February 2024. A separate summary of the trial notes that the aspiring rapper on trial after a grandmother was fatally mauled told police it was “a shame about all the laws” targeting XL bully dogs that killed pensioner Esther Martin, a comment captured in footage referenced in a video report.
A grandmother with mobility issues, and warnings ignored
For the prosecution, the key issue is not just what Warren believed about his dogs, but what he should reasonably have known about Esther Martin’s ability to cope with them. Esther is described in court as a 68-year-old woman with mobility problems, just 5ft 3in tall, who relied on a walking stick. Leaving someone in that condition to manage two adult XL bullies and eight puppies, in a home already flagged for the breed, is being painted as reckless at best. Prosecutor Chris Paxton KC has been quoted telling jurors that given Esther’s age and her mobility issues, she was clearly not a fit and proper person to look after the animals.
One report summarising the case states that “Given Esther’s age and her mobility issues, as well as other factors, Esther was clearly not a fit and proper person to look after these banned XL bully dogs,” a line attributed to the prosecution and cited in coverage of the national trial. Another account notes that the defendant asked the 5ft 3in woman to mind the animals so that he could travel, a detail repeated in another report. A bulletin on the case describes how aspiring rapper Ashley Warren is on trial at Chelmsford Crown Court after 68-year-old Esther Martin was mauled, reinforcing the prosecution’s framing of the attack as a foreseeable outcome of leaving a vulnerable woman in charge of ten XL bullies, a point repeated in a detailed summary.
Ten dogs, no certificates and a banned breed
Layered on top of the personal tragedy is the legal context around XL bullies, which have been added to the list of banned types under dangerous dog laws. Owners are required to obtain exemption certificates, keep the animals muzzled and leashed in public, and meet strict conditions. In Warren’s case, jurors have been told that he had not obtained certificates for any of the ten dogs in his property, despite allegedly telling his landlord that police already knew he kept XL bullies. That gap between what the law demanded and what was happening inside the Jaywick house is central to the prosecution’s argument that this was not a freak accident but a preventable breach.
One account of the trial says that Ashley Warren left a 68-year-old woman alone with two XL bully dogs, eight XL bully puppies and a child at his home in Jaywick, and that he had not attempted to get a certificate for any of the ten dogs in the property. Another report notes that on Jan 1 that year, Jurors heard that Mr Warren told his landlord, Barry Gordon, that police were aware he kept XL bullies, a detail set out in trial coverage. A separate summary of the same case underlines that Mr Warren had not attempted to get a certificate for any of the ten dogs, even as he asked Ms Martin to look after them, a point repeated in another report.
Public anger, policy pressure and a family’s loss
As the details spill out in court, the case is feeding into a much wider national argument about XL bullies and dangerous dogs in general. For campaigners who have long warned about the breed, the idea of a grandmother being killed in a house full of unregistered XL bullies is exactly the nightmare scenario they have been pointing to. For others, the focus is less on the dogs and more on the human decisions, from Warren’s alleged refusal to get certificates to his choice to leave a 68-year-old with ten powerful animals. Either way, the story has become a lightning rod for anger and grief, especially among those who see Esther’s death as proof that the system still leaves too many gaps.
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