A woman has broken down in tears as she described the final moments before her ex-partner was fatally mauled while saving her and her young daughter from a vicious dog attack.
Leah Casperson appeared in the NSW State Coroners Court on Monday, more than five years after her former partner Colin Amatto was killed by two dogs in his own home.
She told an inquest into Mr Amatto’s death that she had visited him in January 2019 at the house he shared with a couple, their baby and their three dogs.
Mrs Casperson said she overheard the couple, David Murray and Laura Graham, discussing how best to introduce her and her two daughters to the dogs.
The dogs looked like they were pit bulls and she guessed they might be ‘guard dogs’, she told the inquest.
Colin Amatto (pictured) was killed on 24 January 2019 in a fatal attack by two dogs
Sir. Amatto is pictured on a stretcher after he was attacked by two dogs five years ago
Mrs Casperson said the dogs were ‘nice’ and ‘loving’ after they had been given the chance to acclimatise to the visitors.
They even slept on a bed with the two young girls.
But the inquest previously heard that Mr Amatto had returned home from work on January 24 to find that one of the dogs had bitten his ex and her 10-year-old daughter.
Immediately before the dog attacked, the inquest heard Ms Casperson’s second daughter claimed she saw a man walking past the house and whistling loudly.
But Mrs Casperson said she could not verify her daughter’s account because she had been inside the house.
She told the inquest she heard the dogs growling inside the house and her 10-year-old daughter screaming.
Ms Casperson broke down in tears and did not describe the vicious subsequent attack on her, her daughter and Mr Amatto.
The Yuin man had saved the lives of his ex and her daughter when he intervened in the dog attack, but lost his own, the inquest previously heard.
He was ‘savagely mauled’ by a Staffordshire bull terrier called Boof, before another staffy called Hope joined the ‘attack of extreme ferocity’.
Sir. Amatto suffered more than 80 wounds to his head, body and limbs during the violent and bloody assault.
He did not regain consciousness for the five weeks before his family made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support.
The 40-year-old’s tragic death is being investigated as part of an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding seven fatal dog attacks that took place between 2019 and 2023.
One of the dogs that attacked and killed Colin Amatto in January 2019 is pictured
Colin Amatto (pictured) heroically intervened in an attack on his ex and her daughter
Less than two years before his fatal attack, the inquest heard that one of the dogs had viciously attacked estate agent Barry Grant while he had visited the property.
A witness previously told the court that Boof had ‘torn off’ Grant’s flesh in the attack, which required him to have surgery and spend four days in hospital.
Ms Casperson told the inquest the dog’s owners had not warned her the dog was dangerous or informed her it had previously chased anyone.
Boof was seized by a Penrith Council animal officer on 24 July 2017 at the request of police while they carried out an investigation into the dog attack.
However, it was returned to Mr Murray and Ms Graham after Sergeant Arron Lindsay determined no offense had been committed.
In circumstances where Mr Grant was believed to have entered the property without the owner’s permission, the police and council concluded that the dog had acted in defense of its property.
Sir. Amatto (pictured as a child) has been remembered in glowing terms by his grieving family
Sergeant Lindsay asked Penrith Council to return the dog to its owners and informed them that no further police action would be taken over the vicious attack.
Reflecting on the decision ahead of the inquest, he admitted he could have ‘done more’ to investigate the incident before concluding the dog had acted defensively.
Penrith Council Environmental Health and Compliance Manager Greg McCarthy told the inquest the council took no action to declare the Boof a dangerous or threatening animal.
The inquest previously heard that an affidavit would order Boof to wear a muzzle and be contained in a restricted area.
McCarthy said it was difficult to determine whether that would have been “an appropriate course of action” as police had determined the dog had not committed an offence.
“We had not … considered whether (the attack) was unreasonable aggression from the dog,” he said.
McCarthy said closer cooperation and better information sharing between Penrith Council and the police on this investigation could have resulted in a different decision.
“I think there is potential for agencies to work better together,” he said.
Estate agent Barry Grant (pictured) was masturbated by Boof on 24 July 2017
One focus of the inquiry is to establish the effectiveness of local council and police response to fatal dog attacks in preventing further tragedies.
McCarthy said there was definitely room for improvement.
He told the inquest he had been ‘shaken, shocked, saddened’ to hear of the death of Mr Amatto, who he called ‘a brave man protecting his family’.
“I am very sorry for your loss,” he told Mr Amatto’s family in the courtroom.