A Colorado woman was thrown behind bars last week after her dementia-stricken mother was found mauled to death in a home where 54 dogs were running amok.
Jessica Hoff, 47, was arrested by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office Friday, more than a month after 76-year-old LaVonne Hoff was found dead in the home they shared.
Her battered body was discovered after police were called to the Colorado City home following reports of an unconscious woman, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Responding officers reported that several dogs were running loose around her body — and that there were dozens more throughout the house, along with seven bird cages.
“Detectives learned that while LaVonne Hoff was left alone, she was attacked by the dogs that were loose in the home,” police said, citing an autopsy report that determined she died from a dog attack.
LaVonne had dementia so severe that she required 24-hour care, and investigators alleged that her daughter left her alone with the animals when she went out to a store.
A search of the home and of a second property owned by Jessica Hoff found that she was keeping 54 dogs and seven birds, most of which were allegedly neglected.
“The dogs and birds were found living in unsanitary conditions and several of the dogs were in poor health,” police said.
The animals were later seized by county animal resources.
The younger Hoff has been booked into the Pueblo County Jail.
She was charged with criminal negligence resulting in death of an at-risk adult, along with 54 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals for each of the dogs located in the home.
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