Stephen Joynes, 36, was in the garden of his Woodlands home when one of his partner’s other young children raised the alarm about baby Elon Ellis-Joynes, who had been left inside on his own. After running into the house, Joynes found Elon seriously injured on the living room floor, with the dog – a Chow Chow / Alsatian cross called Teddy – standing over him and growling. Emergency services were called to the house on Welfare Road, but despite the very best efforts of paramedics and hospital staff, baby Elon was sadly pronounced dead. At Sheffield Crown Court today, Joynes was sentenced to four years after admitting owning/being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury resulting in death, at an earlier hearing. The court heard that Joynes had known Teddy was a danger, as he had previously bitten one of his partner’s other young children. In addition, neighbours had increased the height of their fences to prevent him from jumping into their gardens, having previously been left intimidated when he had escaped. Detective Chief Inspector Lee Townley said: “This was an utterly tragic incident that left a family and the wider community completely devastated. Any death is a tragedy but the loss of a young baby in such awful circumstances makes this even more upsetting. My thoughts and heartfelt condolences remain with the family today.” Following the incident, which occurred just after 3.20pm on 13 September 2020, Joynes and his partner, Elon’s mother Abigail Ellis, were charged with offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act. Ellis pleaded not guilty to her involvement in the incident and the charges against her were later dropped. Teddy has been destroyed.
