Jasper Kraus: 'Animal lover' grandfather dies in pool of his own blood after being attacked by a violent rooster on his farm
DUBLIN, IRELAND: An inquest heard how an animal-loving grandfather died from "massive bleeding" after being fatally attacked by his aggressive rooster that had previously gone after a child. Jasper Kraus, a cancer survivor living in Ballinasloe, tragically died on April 28, 2021, after being attacked by a Brahma chicken.
The 67-year-old, originally from Hague, Netherlands, reportedly had a heart attack after the violent bird dug its spur into his leg and caused him to lose a massive amount of blood. Authorities and his daughter, Virginia Guinan, found Kraus lying in a pool of his own blood due to the fatal wound behind his leg. Despite emergency responders performing CPR on him, he died.
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'Come quick'
Guinan, 33, told the inquest into her father's death how she raced to the house and found him in a pool of blood with ambulance crews already at the scene, per the Irish Mirror. She said that she had been contacted by Corey O'Keeffe, her father's lodger, who had been living with him for two years and looked after the animals. On the morning of April 28, O'Keeffe returned home from a night shift and greeted Kraus before heading to bed. Shortly after, the tenant woke up to Kraus shouting "come quick."
The inquest heard that O'Keeffe performed CPR on Kraus for 25 minutes before an ambulance arrived at the scene. He said blood was coming out of the victim's leg and that he noticed a large wound in the man's calf and scratches on his other leg. Falling in and out of consciousness, Kraus whispered to his tenant, "Rooster." However, he eventually lost so much blood that he had a heart attack.
Unusual suspect
Addressing the inquest, Dr Annette Jennings said paramedics were attempting to resuscitate Kraus when she arrived at the scene in Killahornia, County Roscommon. Despite their efforts, he was pronounced dead at 3.24 pm. Jennings said the circumstances around the man's death were unusual considering the fatal wound was inflicted by a chicken. Dr Ramadan Shatwan, who carried out the autopsy, noted that Kraus' face was covered in dried blood but no cuts were found. Meanwhile, his lower limbs were also covered in dried blood. Shatwan concluded that the cause of death was lethal cardiac arrhythmia in the context of severe coronary atheroma and cardiomegaly.
Guinan recalled paramedics performing CPR on her father as he lay in a pool of blood. She told the inquest she followed the trail of blood to the Brahma chicken, which apparently had blood on its claws. The heartbroken daughter said that she immediately knew the bird was the culprit because it had previously attacked her daughter. She noted that she had wanted to get rid of the chicken since that incident, but her animal-loving father wanted to keep it regardless. "My dad protested - he had too big of a heart and didn't want me to get rid of the rooster, so dad took it instead," Guinan told the court.
Health issues
Kraus was a father-of-two and had two grandchildren. He had reportedly been suffering from a number of health problems at the time of his death. The coroner said that he was in remission from cancer and that his heart was "severely calcified." He was outside visiting his beloved dog's grave when he was attacked. Guinan told the inquest that the family knew her father's heart "was bad." She recalled having to clean up her father's blood in the house following the attack and called for more support for families who have to go through such tragedies. Furthermore, she also warned others of the dangers of keeping chickens, even breeds deemed safe such as the Brahma. "People should be aware of the signs and get rid of any bird as soon as they show signs of aggression," Guinan told the inquest, as quoted by The Mirror.