After a year of investigation, father Blake Bates and mother Alyssa Smith were indicted last week.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A 6-month-old boy died from being attacked by a dog, according to the Marion County prosecutor. Now, the boy’s parents are facing charges.
Last April, a 911 call was made to dispatchers from a home on Miami Street in Marion, begging for help after a family’s pit bull attacked an infant.
“It’s a tragedy. It’s horrible,” said Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan.
After a year of investigation, the 6-month-old’s parents, Blake Bates and Alyssa Smith, were indicted last week and charged with involuntary manslaughter, endangering children and reckless homicide.
“My focus needs to be on that 6-month-old child, and we need to make sure that we are setting a standard for everybody to understand that you have to take care when you have animals that demonstrate an aggressive behavior,” Grogan said.
Grogan explains there was an incident one year before the deadly attack where the same pit bull attacked a neighbor’s child.
“Given that corrective action wasn’t taken, [that has] led us ultimately to being here today,” he said.
That dog was euthanized the day after the fatal attack.
“When you have a dog in any instance that demonstrates aggressive behavior towards a human being, you have to take steps to either one put that dog down or ensure that the dog isn’t going to have access to do real harm to somebody, particularly a child,” Grogan said. “When you don’t do that, there are consequences for that.”
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