Owner, 78, ‘hid Bernese mountain dogs after she found landlord lying naked and dead in garden with 1,000 bite marks’

A PENSIONER hid her Bernese mountain dogs after she found her landlord naked in the garden with bite marks, a court heard. June Miles, 78, discovered Antony Harrington lying face down at his country home in in Meriden, West Midlands. Jurors heard the 77-year-old had suffered more than 1,000 bite and claw marks to his head, neck, arms, chest, legs and back, Mail Online reports. Following the horror discovery, Miles allegedly called 999 and told the operator: “He’s just lying there, he looks all chewed up.” Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! When asked retired vet Antony had been attacked by a dog, she replied: “I don’t know.” Warwick Crown Court heard Miles also allegedly moved two of her five Bernese mountain dogs – including one called Nigel that had a bloodstain on his muzzle that matched Antony’s DNA. Police discovered the animals the next day in a derelict outbuilding at a farm where Miles had previously been living, it was said. Jurors were told the pensioner owned four Bernese mountain dogs – Nigel, Otis, Randy and a female called Phoebe and her puppy Roger. The dogs all lived alongside Antony’s black Russian terrier, Red, and Miles’ dachshund Mr Purple. Giving evidence, Miles claimed she moved the dogs to her old home before Antony’s death to act as a deterrent to burglars. Most read in The Sun She also told jurors she last saw Antony alive when she took him a cup of tea shortly before 9.30am on November 25, 2023. Miles claimed she returned home from seeing friends to find Antony dead. She added: “I immediately came in the back door and phoned 999 because I could see he was deceased. “I don’t know how long he had been deceased. He was lying on his front. “I thought they were bruises at first, but thinking about it they appeared to be dog bites, but I didn’t get close to him. “I was absolutely distraught. I can’t express how I felt. I was in complete and utter shock.” Asked why she left Nigel and Otis alone at her old home, Miles claimed there had been “several break-ins” at other houses in the area. She was quizzed over whether she had taken the dogs there because she believed they had attacked Antony, but replied: “No, why would I?” Jurors were previously told blood found on Nigel’s muzzle gave a “clear inference” the dog was involved in the attack. But the court heard investigators could not rule out if any of the other dogs were involved. Miles denies perverting the course of justice but admitted being the owner of a dog which caused injury while being dangerously out of control in relation to an attack on Antony’s daughter the day before. The trial continues.