WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains images of people who have died.
A Staffordshire bull terrier that killed a Sydney man in an “attack of extreme ferocity” had mauled a real estate agent just months earlier, an inquest has heard.
Colin Amatto, 40, suffered more than 80 wounds defending a woman and her 10-year-old daughter from two Staffordshire bull terriers at home in the western Sydney suburb of Tregear in 2019.
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Amatto lived at the home with his friend, his friend’s girlfriend, and the couple’s child.
The family owned three dogs, including two Staffordshire bull terriers and a Staffordshire bull cross.
The inquest heard Amatto had a good relationship with the dogs, and they would sleep with him at night.
The day Amatto was attacked, the dog’s owners (Amatto’s friend and his family) left home for the day and a woman and her two daughters were visiting the 40-year-old.
One of the dogs bit a 10-year-old girl on the back and abdomen, then the girl’s mother on the forearm.
Counsel assisting the inquest, David Kell SC told the court when Amatto intervened, both dogs mauled him in an “attack of extreme ferocity”.
Meanwhile, the woman and two girls managed to flee the house, he said.
Details of Amatto’s death were revealed during as the NSW coroner’s court investigates the circumstances surrounding seven fatal dog attacks that occurred between 2019 and 2023, and the role of responding agencies.
The court heard when the dog’s owners returned, they found Amatto covered in blood, saying he could not breathe.
The 40-year-old died in hospital several weeks later.
Kell told the court Amatto acted in a “brave fashion” and his intervention saved the woman and children from serious injuries.
Amatto’s sister, Kristy, said outside court the last year five-years had been “really tough for the family”.
“I just don’t want to see anyone have to go through the trauma that our family went through,” she said.
“I hope that they look at dog breeds and whether a particular breed has to be outlawed.”
The inquest heard 18-months before the attack, one of the Staffordshire bull terriers had viciously attacked a real estate agent at the owner’s previous address, leaving the agent with serious injuries.
“He was jumping up and going for my throat,” agent Barry Grant told the inquest.
“I was in serious trouble,” he said
NSW police and Penrith City Council didn’t take action against the bull terrier at the time, as they deemed the dog was “animal in defence” who was “protecting the property”.
The dog was released from the pound and returned to his owner, who paid a small registration fee.
The inquest continues.
-With Annie Pullar