26 day-old baby mauled to death ‘after his mother kept pit bull she knew was aggressive’

A 26 day-old baby was mauled to death after his mother held on to a pit bull despite knowing it was aggressive, police say. Julian Connell died at his home in Lafayette, Indiana, in January, with his mother Jennifer Connell, 38, arrested and charged with neglect on Tuesday.

At the time of Julian’s death, Jennifer was trying to re-home the pit bull, named Maisie, over its aggressive behavior towards her baby, according to the Journal&Courier. The animal had also acted in a menacing manner towards Connell’s teenage son, as well as another beagle-mix dog that lived in the house.

Julian died after his mom laid him down on her bed to sleep. The killer pit bull then got into the bedroom and began attacking the beagle. Connell’s older son realized what was happening, managed to separate the two dogs, and pulled the beagle out of the room.

He went back moments later to find the pit bull standing over Julian on the bed, with its mouth and chest covered in blood. The dog was behaving so aggressively neither Connell nor her son could get near it.

They called police, with officers shooting the pit bull dead in order to get to Julian. Efforts to save the newborn proved unsuccessful, and he was declared dead shortly afterwards.

Julian was later found to have died from wounds Maisie inflicted on his head and neck.

Investigators said Connell’s home was filled with animal feces and dead mice in various states of decay. She has been charged with a count of neglect for exposing Julian to the dog that killed him, and a further count for subjecting her older son to the same animal.

Connell remains in Tippecanoe County Jail ahead of a preliminary court appearance.

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