At a Glance
- Court
- Tippecanoe County Superior Court No. 2
- Case Type
- Sentencing
- Parties
- State of Indiana v. Jennifer Connell
- Jurisdiction
- Tippecanoe County, Indiana
- Date
- 2020-12-14
- Status
- Sentenced
An Indiana woman received a one-year prison term and four years of supervised probation on Dec. 14, 2020, after pleading guilty to a felony neglect charge connected to the death of her newborn son, according to the Washington Post [1]. Jennifer Connell, 38, of Lafayette, was sentenced in Tippecanoe County Superior Court after pleading guilty in September to one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury [1][2]. The charge, a Level 5 felony under Indiana law, stemmed from the mauling death of her infant son, Julian, on Jan. 25 [1][2]. Prosecutors dismissed two other, lower neglect counts as part of the resolution [2].
Tippecanoe County Superior Court Judge Steve Meyer imposed the sentence [2]. Officers responding to the Lafayette home on Jan. 25 found an aggressive dog covered with blood standing near the lifeless body of Connell's son on a bed [2][3]. Officers had to shoot the dog to reach the infant, but the child was already dead [2][3]. The Tippecanoe County Coroner determined that the infant died from "multiple sharp force injuries" sustained from dog bites to his head and neck [2].
Prosecutors argued that Connell had prior knowledge of the animal's aggression. According to the Lafayette Journal & Courier, Connell's teenage son, Jameson, told police that his mother had planned to remove the dog from the home because it had bruised and scratched infant Julian in the week before the fatal attack [2]. Connell herself acknowledged that she knew the dog was aggressive and had gone after the baby before, and she said she was trying to find another home for the animal at the time Julian was killed [3]. Police said Connell was present in the home when the pit bull began fighting with a beagle mix; the baby's teenage brother separated the two dogs, but the pit bull then turned on the infant [2][3].
Investigators also found the home littered with animal feces and dead mice in various states of decay, which formed the basis for the two neglect counts that were ultimately dismissed at sentencing [2]. Under Indiana law, a Level 5 felony carries a sentencing range of one to six years in prison [4]. Connell's one-year term therefore represents the minimum end of that statutory range. The case drew attention to the legal duties parents carry when a household animal has demonstrated prior aggression toward a child, a question courts in other states have also confronted in similar prosecutions.
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References
[1] The Washington Post. (2020, December 14). National Digest: Mother of child killed by dog sentenced to one year in jail. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-digest-mother-of-child-killed-by-dog-sentenced-to-one-year-in-jail/2020/12/14/25f11c56-3c25-11eb-98c4-25dc9f4987e8_story.html
[2] DogsBite.org. (2020, December 14). 2020 Dog Bite Fatality: Family Pit Bull-Mix Kills Infant in Lafayette, Indiana. https://blog.dogsbite.org/2020/01/family-dog-kills-infant-in-lafayette.html
[3] WRTV Indianapolis. (2020, December 15). Mother sentenced to one year in dog attack that killed her baby boy. https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/sentencing-for-mother-family-dog-attacked-and-killed-her-baby-boy
[4] WBIW. (2026, May 12). Grand Jury indicts homeowner and mother after infant killed in 2025 pit bull attack. https://www.wbiw.com/2026/05/12/grand-jury-indicts-homeowner-and-mother-after-infant-killed-in-2025-pit-bull-attack/