CONVICTED (2022) | Kayleigh Sinead Benson, born 25 February 1993, of Junella Close, Hull HU3 5DU – starved an American bulldog until she died covered in her own mess. “Shocked and devastated” dog killer Kayleigh Benson, who is a mother of two young boys and a baby girl. Picture on the right shows her during her court appearance while the other is from her now deactivated Facebook account. Benson’s pet – an American bulldog named Lexi – was found dead covered in urine and faeces and reduced to skin and bone by starvation. RSPCA prosecutor Phil Brown told the court that on December 22, 2019, Benson contacted PDSA asking for assistance as her dog had passed away. Accompanied by a male, Benson took Lexi to the pet hospital and requested for a postmortem to figure out her cause of death. Lexi was wrapped up in a blanket, and the male instructed staff to not unwrap her as she “was in a really bad state”. When Lexi was examined, the vet found she was soiled in urine, and urine scald was present on her rear end. “It had very little fat and no muscle. The whole of her side was covered in faeces, suggesting she was living in faeces before her death,” Mr Brown said. Cruel Benson is banned from keeping dogs for 10 years. Lexi’s postmortem revealed she was reduced to a skeletal state and her bones were breaking down, which Mr Brown explained was a result of extended period of starvation after the body no longer has muscle or fat for energy. She was very dirty with faeces and urine, and had bald patches caused by pressure in the same area. She was also found with a plastic bag in her large intestines. Multiple organs were found without required fat. Mr Brown added: “It had no underlying diseases to have caused this, it was due to a lack of nutrition. “This was an animal in severe hunger, pain and mental suffering. It was suffering for many weeks. “This chronic period of suffering could have been easily avoided.” Emma Johnson, mitigating, told the court Benson was shocked and devastated at what happened. Lexi came in the sole care of Benson after an incident with an ex-partner. At the time of Lexi’s death, Ms Johnson told the court Benson was at “the worst time of her life” after losing her father, which distracted her from caring for her dog. Benson said this was very “out of character for her”. Sentencing: 12-week suspended prison sentence with 25 days of rehabilitation activity. She was ordered to pay £478, which will be deducted from her benefits. She is disqualified her from owning a dog for the next 10 years (expires January 2032). Hull Live