Republished December 14, 2020 - 1:41 PM
Original Publication Date July 01, 2020 - 4:41 PM
LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A northwestern Indiana woman was sentenced to a year in prison Monday in connection with the fatal mauling of her 26-day-old son by the family’s pit bull mix dog.
Jennifer Connell, 38, of Lafayette also will spend four years on probation. Tippecanoe Superior Court Judge Steve Meyer sentenced her after she had pleaded guilty to one count of neglect in September, the Journal and Courier reported.
Police who were called Jan. 25 found an aggressive dog covered with blood on its mouth and chest and standing near the lifeless body of Julian Connell on a bed at the family’s home, about 60 miles (96 kilometres) north of Indianapolis. Officers had to shoot the dog to get to the infant, but the child already was dead.
Police have said Connell was at home when the pit bull began fighting with a beagle-mix dog in the house. The baby’s teenage brother separated the dogs, and police said that’s when the pit bull attacked the baby.
Connell told police she was trying to find a new home for the pit bull, which had been aggressive toward the family and the second dog, according to a probable cause affidavit.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020