A Wakefield man has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter after another man died from injuries sustained during a dog attack on a rural footpath.
James Judge, 55, suffered fatal injuries during an incident on the old railway line footpath off Blacker Lane, near Calder Grove, on 15 August.
Emergency services were called at around 1.36pm and Mr Judge was taken to Leeds General Infirmary in a critical condition. He died shortly after 7pm that evening.
Police said the injuries were sustained during an altercation involving Mr Judge and another man.
Dog bite wound contributed to death
A post-mortem examination gave a provisional cause of death as complications arising from a wound to Mr Judge’s right leg caused by a dog bite.
The examination was unable to establish how many times he had been bitten, but a wound behind his right knee was identified as having directly contributed to his death.
Lee Ellis, 55, from Wakefield, appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to manslaughter.
He also denied being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury resulting in death.
At an earlier court hearing, Ellis’s solicitor, Rob Fones, said the incident followed “a verbal altercation regarding the right of way”.
The court heard Ellis is a self-employed farrier who has lived locally for around 30 years.
Trial scheduled for May
Judge Tom Bayliss KC granted Ellis bail ahead of a trial scheduled to begin on 17 May, with a further pre-trial hearing listed for 15 April.
An inquest into Mr Judge’s death has also been opened and adjourned.
Acting senior coroner Oliver Longstaff confirmed that Mr Judge, who lived in Horbury and was born in Wakefield, had been formally identified by his mother.
The dog believed to have been involved in the incident was seized and taken to police kennels.
Detectives had previously appealed to trace two people who stopped to help Mr Judge and directed emergency services to the scene. Both have since been identified and interviewed by West Yorkshire Police‘s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team.
Mr Judge’s family continue to be supported by specially trained officers.
