Family of girl 10 killed by XL Bully distraught by gross intrusion into grief

Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Wednesday, 6th November 2024, at 07:00hrs

The family has been left distraught by this gross intrusion

The family of ten-year-old Suvannah Bentham, who tragically lost her life after the family pet dog attacked her, has made a complaint to the Independent Press Standards Office.

This comes after some media outlets published photographs of Suvannah taken from family members’ private social media accounts despite the family not releasing any photos to the media and asking for their privacy to be respected.

North Yorkshire Police have described this as grossly intrusive and have left the family distraught.

Officers were called shortly after 4pm on Friday 1st November 2024 to an address in the Malton area after receiving reports to the incident by Yorkshire Ambulance Service. Despite the best efforts of medical professionals, Suvannah was sadly pronounced deceased.

In an updated statement released on Tuesday, North Yorkshire Police said:

“Earlier today (Tuesday 5 November 2024), the dog involved in this tragic incident has been euthanised by a vet.

Detailed independent assessments carried out in the days since the incident have confirmed it to be an XL Bully-type breed.

The dog had been with the family for four years and had a Certificate of Exemption under the new legislation which came into effect in February 2024.

It had also been neutered in line with the legislation.

To aid the report for the Coroner, an autopsy is due to take place on the dog to help determine if there were any medical factors involved.

These findings will be outlined at the inquest into the death of Savannah Bentham in due course.

Our officers are continuing to support the family.

We again urge people not to speculate about the incident and to respect the family’s wish for privacy to grieve in peace.”

Please note: A formal complaint is being made by the family to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) after some media outlets published a photograph taken from a family member’s private social media account. The family is distraught by this gross intrusion into their grief.”