Pit Bull Attacked a Neighborhood Kid, and Owners Ignored Warnings. Months Later, the Dog Killed Their Baby By Christine Pelisek 131

An Ohio man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday, Oct. 2 after his 6-month-old son was mauled to death by his dog.

The Marion County prosecutor’s office said Blake Bates’ dog mauled the infant on April 28, 2024, at his home in the City of Marion.

Prosecutors said Bates had been previously charged and warned a year earlier after the pit bull mix named Kilo tried to bite a neighborhood child.

On the day of the attack, April 28, 2024, Bates and his partner, Alyssa Smith, allowed the dog near the infant unsupervised with another young child, prosecutors said. 

The dog attacked the infant, tearing into the baby’s skull.

“The dog essentially crushed the child’s skull,” prosecutor Ray Grogan tells PEOPLE. “And as a result of that, the child’s brain was severely damaged.”

The boy was taken to Marion General Hospital and pronounced dead.

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The dog was immediately seized and euthanized.

“This guilty plea holds Bates accountable for a preventable horror that stole an innocent baby’s life,” Grogan said in a press release. “Bates knew his pit bull was dangerous, yet he gambled with this baby’s safety – recklessness that demands severe consequences.”

According to prosecutors, Smith pleaded guilty to child endangering. She has yet to be sentenced, prosecutors said.  

Bates faces up to three years in prison, according to prosecutors.

He also faces sentencing for other crimes including fourth-degree felony strangulation and third-degree felony escape attempt.

“Everyone is responsible for the dogs they own, and – for aggressive dogs – those owners must take extra precautions, especially around kids,” Grogan said, per the release.

Bates is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 27 in common pleas court.