A dog walker who was mauled to death after being attacked by eight crazy animals in her care, including her own banned bull terrier, suffered penetrating dog bites to her torso, neck and arms during the attack.
Natasha Johnston, 28, was murdered near Gravelly Hill in Caterham on January 12, 2023 – after losing control of the pack of dogs she was walking.
A post-mortem revealed her cause of death as shock and haemorrhage, including perforation of the left jugular vein.
At the inquest into her death today, Senior Coroner Richard Travers said he will prepare a Prevention of Future Deaths Report for Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on restrictions on dog walkers in public places.
Mr Travers confirmed at the hearing that ‘there are no national restrictions or regulations regarding the number and weight of dogs that can be walked in a public place.’
Natasha Johnston, 28, was mauled to death near Gravelly Hill in Caterham, Surrey
Shiva, an 11th Leonberger, was one of eight dogs with the victim
The inquest was told that Mrs Johnston, from Croydon, south London, was found by walker Ben Kershaw on a slope in the picturesque Surrey beauty spot – after he was approached by the off-leash dogs running around.
But despite the efforts of Mr Kershaw, police officers and paramedics who administered CPR to Mrs Johnston, she was pronounced dead at 3.29pm.
The inquest heard today that Ms Johnston had been seen by a number of people in the area before her death – including horse riders whose animals had been startled by the out-of-control dogs.
Shortly before her death, Mrs Johnston was seen on the ground with five or six dogs around her shouting ‘go back, ‘go back’.
But senior Surrey coroner Richard Travers found in his conclusion that Ms Johnston was not being attacked at this time and that the ‘dogs simply got out of control’.
Coroner Mr Travers told the inquest: ‘On January 12, 2023, Ms Johnston, who was in the habit of acting as a dog walker, walked a number of dogs near Gravelly Hill in Caterham in Surrey.
‘It was clear this wasn’t the first time she had walked a pack of dogs in that area.
‘She was not a member of an organized dog walking association. She also did not have a dog walking certificate.
“She had walked them before with no problems.”
Police at the scene in Gravelly Hill in Caterham, Surrey, where Mrs Johnston was attacked
Natasha, 28, died from multiple bites to the neck, including one that perforated her jugular vein, in the frenzy that happened as she walked eight dogs at the Gravelly Hill beauty spot in Caterham, Surrey, on January 12.
Andrew Coutts was walking his dog in the area around the lookout point when he saw a woman walking six to eight dogs.
The inquest heard he saw Mrs Johnston – before she turned and walked in the other direction.
At the hearing in Woking, Surrey was told at this stage that she called the dogs, and they obeyed her commands and followed her.
Mr Travers said: “He had seen Mrs Johnston walking a number of dogs on previous occasions. On this occasion she took the same action, which was to turn around and walk the other way.”
Shortly after Ms Johnston turned the corner, Mr Coutts ‘said he heard a commotion including shouting and dogs barking.’
Mr Coutts then saw riders Michelle Clarke and Susan Dove “with one of the horses out of control”, Mr Travers said.
Ms Clarke told the court in a written statement that she and her friend Susan had gone horse riding at around 2pm.
In evidence read to the court by Mr Travers and confirmed by coroner Jodie Gatenby, Ms Clarke said she heard a sound similar to a beep while driving but could not work out whether it was a bird, an animal or a person. , so they continued on their way.’
She then saw Mrs Johnston ‘sitting or lying on the floor with four or five dogs around her, entangled in leashes, before shouting ‘go back, go back’.
Two of the dogs ran towards him [Ms Clarke and Ms Dove]and at that moment Susan’s horse became frightened and she fell off.
They did not see Mrs. Johnston again after this.
The inquest was told that another witness, Sam Ogden, was walking her dog Bertie with a friend in Gravelly Hill, near the Viewpoint, when they came across a woman with about seven dogs.
“One of the dogs started running around Bertie.”
Mrs. Ogden reported that she picked up Bertie, a terrier-type dog, because the dog that had approached her was larger.
She said in her statement, according to Mr Travers, that ‘she then picked up Bertie because the dog seemed to be changing its temperament.’
She said the dog “appeared to be confused and going around in circles.”
Mr Travers added: ‘Mrs Johnston called the dog to no avail.’
It was at this point that the stray animal allegedly bit Ms. Ogden.
He said: ‘Mrs Ogden felt searing pain when the dog bit her.’
Natasha Johnston then grabbed the dog by the back of the neck.
A woman lays flowers at the site of the fatal dog mauling
Mr Travers said Ms Ogden said in her statement that the dog ‘continued to struggle – trying to escape her.’
Shortly after that incident, Mr Travers told the hearing that Ben Kershaw was walking with his mother when he came across two police officers who asked them if they had seen a woman with some dogs. At this point, they hadn’t.
But later he saw some dogs that were “off their leashes and running around.”
Mr Kershaw got closer to the dogs and “observed two dogs had blood on their snouts” along a nearby slope as he held up an object.
As he got closer, he saw it was the body of Natasha Johnston.
Mr Travers said: ‘He had now seen that the object on the floor was the body of a woman.
“The woman was in a disheveled condition.”
Reading from Mr Kershaw’s statement, Mr Travers said: ‘He was approached by a sausage dog. He could hear other dogs.
‘On the right side of the path were dogs that were barking and appeared to be in an excited state.
‘There were two or three dogs standing over something. The dogs, trees and branches blocked his view.
‘At that moment one of the dogs noticed him, ran towards him and noticed that there was blood on the top of his muzzle.
“I see the big dog had blood on his snout and jaws.
“I called her to see if there was any response, but there was no response.
“He checked her pulse on her right arm and her neck.
‘He then describes seeing a number of stab wounds.
‘He called 999 and asked for the police and an ambulance.
‘He was then given instructions on how to perform CPR.’
Mr Travers concluded: ‘On their advice he commenced CPR. At one point his mother appeared and he told her to go get the police officers they had seen.
Pathologist Dr. Ashley Fegan Earl gave Natasha’s medical cause of death as 1A shock and hemorrhage including perforation of the left jugular vein – and 1B multiple penetrating dog bites to her torso, neck and arms.
The inquest heard that Ms Johnston’s brother Jordan confirmed his sister’s age, occupation, marital status and date of death to the court on January 16, 2023 – four days after her death.
Jordan also confirmed in a written statement that Natasha was “very comfortable with dogs and other animals.”
The grieving brother added that Natasha “knew all the dogs in the group well.”
Jordan added that the group of eight dogs Natasha was walking when she died belonged to people she was close to, and that “she had walked the same group of dogs multiple times over a long period of time.”
The inquest did not reveal which dog had been responsible for Natasha’s death. But it was previously reported that two of her own dogs, which were walked that day, had since been destroyed, including a banned bull terrier called Stan.
The remaining six dogs have all been returned to their owners.