Colorado Woman Charged After Dogs Kill Mother Left Alone With Dementia

Pueblo County, Colo., authorities arrested Jessica Hoff, 47, of Colorado City on March 21, 2025, on charges stemming from the fatal dog attack on her mother nearly seven weeks earlier. Hoff faces one count of criminal negligence resulting in death and 54 counts of aggravated animal cruelty, the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office said ^[1]. The charge of criminal negligence is specifically denominated as resulting in the death of an at-risk adult, and Hoff was booked into the Pueblo County Jail ^[2].

The arrest followed a call the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office received on Feb. 3 reporting an unconscious woman, and deputies found LaVonne Hoff, 76, unresponsive at the scene ^[1]. Several dogs were running loose in the home, and roughly two dozen additional dogs and seven birds were found in cages throughout the residence ^[2]. LaVonne Hoff was pronounced dead at the scene, and an autopsy determined that the dog attack caused her death, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office ^[2]. NBC News first reported the charges on March 24, 2025 ^[1].

Investigators determined that Jessica Hoff had left her mother, who reportedly had dementia and required 24-hour care, alone in the home with the dogs while she traveled to Pueblo to run errands ^[2]. Arrest records further indicate that her daughter had been made aware of the 24-hour care requirement by Adult Protective Services ^[2]. The attack on LaVonne Hoff is alleged to have occurred during that period of unsupervised time. Authorities subsequently executed search warrants on the family home and a second property owned by Jessica Hoff in Colorado City ^[2].

A search warrant executed at both properties yielded a total of 54 dogs and seven birds, and deputies said the animals were found living in unsanitary conditions, with several dogs in poor health ^[2]. Jessica Hoff remained held in the Pueblo County Jail on $50,000 bond at the time charges were announced ^[2]. The volume of animal cruelty counts, one per dog, reflects Colorado's practice of charging each animal as a discrete victim under the state's aggravated cruelty statute.

The case carries implications beyond its criminal docket. Prosecutors' decision to charge a caregiver under a criminal negligence theory, based on the unsupervised exposure of a cognitively impaired adult to an unsafe environment, may signal broader use of elder protection statutes in animal hoarding contexts. Jessica Hoff was represented at early proceedings by the Public Defender's Office ^[2]. No trial date had been publicly set as of the March 24 reporting date.

References

[1] NBC News. (2025, March 24). Elderly Colorado woman with dementia mauled to death by dogs; daughter charged with negligence. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/elderly-colorado-woman-dementia-mauled-death-dogs-daughter-charged-neg-rcna197821

[2] 9News (KUSA). (2025, March 24). Woman charged after her mother died in a dog attack. https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/dog-attack-arrest-colorado-city-pueblo-county/73-e9587fa5-af3a-43bf-8db0-be2177a4ff69

[3] Pueblo County Sheriff's Office. (2025, March 21). Woman arrested in dog attack death. https://www.pueblosheriff.com/DocumentCenter/View/3374/woman-arrested-in-dog-attack-death