Mom of 5 Dies After Being Bitten as Her 2 Dogs Fought Over Chicken Nuggets
in July 2024, Michelle Hempstead, a 34-year-old mother of five from Essex, England, tragically died after being accidentally bitten by her dog during a brief fight between her two pets over food. The incident occurred when Hempstead was tossing McDonald’s chicken nuggets for her two dogs-a Pomeranian named Pom and a rottweiler-mastiff named Trigg. During the scramble, Trigg, described as a “gentle giant,” accidentally bit her under the arm, severing an artery and causing fatal blood loss. The bite was deemed unintentional by the coroner, Lincoln Brookes. Adding to the family’s grief, Hempstead had recently suffered the loss of her daughter weeks prior. Following the incident, police declared both dogs for destruction. Hempstead’s boyfriend witnessed the accident; he was briefly arrested but then released. The death was officially ruled as accidental.
During an inquest hearing in England on Monday, the court learned about a woman killed by her dog in an accident involving chicken nuggets.
It was July 2024 when Michelle Hempstead, 34, died after her dog bit her at home in Essex, England, according to the U.K.’s Sky News.
“Michelle Hempstead died of the consequences of traumatic blood loss following a single bite from her large dog in her home which severed an artery,” Essex senior coroner Lincoln Brookes said.
“The bite was not malicious and occurred when she was caught during a brief fight between her two dogs over food,” he said.
Mother-of-five was fatally bitten by her dog as pets fought over food, inquest hears.
🔗 Read more https://t.co/3VPzR70LkA
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 29, 2025
Samuel West, Hempstead’s boyfriend who witnessed the accident, said that his girlfriend had brought home McDonald’s chicken nuggets, which she sometimes d with her two dogs: a Pomeranian named Pom, and Trigg, a rottweiler-mastiff, according to the BBC.
“She liked to throw them up in the air and the little one, Pom, was going for the big one, not aggressively but he used to growl and snap when he wanted to get the nugget first,” West said.
Although described as a “gentle giant,” Trigg had a powerful set of jaws.
“Trigg’s done this thing where he chomps his mouth,” West said.
And when Hempstead tossed the nugget, that’s what Trigg did.
“It looked like to me it wasn’t a grab,” West said. “He just went to do a chomping thing and caught her under the arm.”
Mother, 34, attacked by dog died after bite severed artery in arm https://t.co/rqMdPyWM5O pic.twitter.com/SW4uN2TqiF
— The Independent (@Independent) August 15, 2024
Hempstead, a mother of five, died early the next morning, on July 30, 2024, according to People.
West was immediately arrested but released shortly after, the BBC reported.
The coroner recorded the bite incident as an accidental death.
But Hempstead’s passing was heartbreaking for another reason, too.
“The double tragedy about this is that she and the rest of her family suffered a terrible bereavement only a few weeks beforehand, of the death of her daughter,” coroner Brookes said.
“She was still reeling from that,” he said.
As for Trigg and Pom, police said they’ve been “disclaimed for destruction.”
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