Crystal Jean MacDonald, 46, took the stand Friday in her criminal negligence trial for the death of 11-year-old Kache Grist, who was killed by her Cane Corsos Khaos and Khairo on April 1, 2024. MacDonald claimed she told Kache's father, Wesley Grist, that she did not want the boy visiting until after the animals had been trained.
"I said 'absolutely not, I don't think it's a good idea,'" she testified. Kache nonetheless showed up at the door with his father a few days later, she said. MacDonald was adamant that she told Grist that Kache was never to be alone with the animals. She said that when she left for work the day of the deadly attack, Khaos and Khairo were both in their kennels. She does not know who let them out.
Prior Attacks
The first attack occurred in July 2023 on a Sherwood Park property belonging to Shawn Hesse, the owner of the bar where MacDonald worked evening shifts. While dropping off a trailer, Khaos and Khairo attacked Hesse's Pomeranian. MacDonald testified, "I saw Shawn holding his dog with two hands and trying to reef him out of Khairo's mouth. He was sort of playing tug of war." She managed to force Khairo to release the smaller dog, but it was badly injured and died at the veterinarian later that day.
MacDonald said she told Hesse her dogs didn't like smaller animals and to keep the Pomeranian away from them. She said both Cane Corsos were tied up and with a friend when the attack happened. "I felt absolutely horrible," she said, but added she believed she had done her "due diligence" and did not change anything in her handling of the dogs in response. "I warned (Hesse) to keep his dog away from my dogs, and I would keep my dogs away from his dogs," she said. "My dogs were tied up, away from (his) house."
Another Attack
The next attack happened at MacDonald's house in December 2023. MacDonald was having drinks with the basement roommate and his boyfriend in the main floor kitchen. Khaos bit the roommate's leg while he played with him on the floor, and also bit MacDonald when she intervened. Both went to hospital.
MacDonald testified that after the December incident, she brought in stricter rules and was trying to get the animals in training, but was unable to do so before they fatally mauled Kache. She worked for a non-profit helping adults with disabilities and rented a house at 8213, 11 Ave. SW, where she lived with roommates. She got Khaos and his brother Khairo as puppies in 2022 after her mother saw an ad for them on Facebook.
MacDonald had never owned Cane Corsos, a breed of mastiff known for their massive size and large heads, but believed she could handle them given her experience with pit bulls. She said she trained the dogs and always kept Khaos, the more rambunctious of the two, in a kennel when she wasn't home.
