Dog owner charged following fatal attack on great grandmother Lucille Downer in West Midlands

A dog owner has been charged with having two dogs dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in the death of an elderly woman, West Midlands Police has announced.

Lucille Downer, aged 85, died following injuries sustained from these dogsin her rear garden in Boundary Avenue in Rowley Regis on Good Friday 2 April 2021. Although a family member andneighbours rushed to her aid, Lucille was sadly confirmed dead at the scene soon afterwards. Emergency crews, including armed police and an air ambulance, scrambled to the property at 3.20pm but were unable to save Lucille who died at the scene.

Darren Pritchard aged 44 from Merrivale Road, Smethwick, will appear before Dudley Magistrates’ Court tomorrow (Tuesday, March 21). He has also been charged with possession with intent to supply and production of cannabis. Police say the two dogs were “humanely destroyed” after ownership was voluntarily transferred to officers who concluded the animals would never be rehomed.

Lucille, who suffered from dementia and spent most of the Covid lockdown in isolation, had been with her family to mark her birthday before she was attacked. In a statement released following her death, Lucille’s family said: “Lucille was a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who spent her working years as a cook at Bromford House Care Home in West Bromwich.

“Lucille was born in Jamaica and emigrated to the UK in her early 20s. Since arriving in the UK, Rowley Regis has always been her home and her family will miss her dearly.”