Edmonton court hears of prior grisly dog attack in death of 11-year-old boy

EDMONTON – A hearing into the death of a boy killed by dogs heard grisly details Tuesday about how the two Cane Corsos played tug of war with a puppy, trying to tear it apart in front of its terrified owner.

Crystal MacDonald is facing a charge of criminal negligence causing death after her dogs killed 11-year-old Kache Grist at her home in southern Edmonton in April 2024.

Shawn Hesse, who owned the bar where MacDonald used to work, testified that her dogs also killed his Pomeranian named Rhone in July 2023.

“They were very aggressive dogs and they would bark at anything,” Hesse told court. 

“They were very strong animals. I’m surprised I didn’t get eaten.”

Court had heard that MacDonald was roommates with Kache’s father when the boy was attacked by the two dogs, named Chaos and Cairo. The boy was from British Columbia but came to Edmonton to visit his father.

An autopsy found the boy died from a dog bite injury to the neck. The dogs were later euthanized. 

Hesse testified Tuesday that MacDonald came to his house in Sherwood Park, Alta., just east of Edmonton, and brought the two dogs. He said MacDonald was friends with his wife at the time, who also owned the bar with him. 

MacDonald ran inside to use the washroom before tying up the dogs outside, Hesse said. His wife called at the same time, so he placed Rhone inside a pen in the backyard before he escaped and ran toward the two larger dogs.

“The dogs picked him up and just made short work of him,” Hesse said. 

“One got one side of him and then the other (dog) grabbed the other side and it was a tug of war.”

He said he started punching one dog in the head while a man who accompanied MacDonald was punching the other dog, and they eventually freed Rhone.

He said he and MacDonald rushed Rhone to the vet, where the dog later died of his injuries.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Evan McIntyre said a report from the veterinarian indicated that Hesse said Rhone had a history of breaking out of his dog pen.

“Instead of keeping your dog indoors, you put him in a pen that he had a history of breaking out of?” McIntyre asked him.

“Yes,” Hesse replied. 

Court also heard Tuesday from one of MacDonald’s neighbours, who described the dogs as aggressive and kept his family on edge.

Grant MacDonald, who is not related to the accused, testified that his backyard shared a fence with MacDonald’s home. He said the dogs would constantly bark and charge at the fence when they were outside. 

He said he installed reinforcements at the bottom of his fence because the dogs would try to dig under it. He said another neighbour added a second fence to his yard for safety.

“We couldn’t enjoy our yard. It was unusable,” he said.

Grant MacDonald said he tried to speak to MacDonald over the fence about the dogs’ behaviour, but he said she would swear at him and tell him to mind his own business.

Kache’s father is expected to testify Thursday. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2026.