Jessica Hoff, age 47, has been apprehended in Colorado due to her involvement in the death of her mother, LaVonne Hoff, a 76-year-old suffering from dementia. LaVonne was found fatally mauled among the more than two dozen dogs residing in their shared Colorado City home.

According to a news release from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, Jessica was arrested on Friday for her role in the tragic event. Deputies were called to the scene on February 3rd after a report of an unconscious woman, and they discovered a number of dogs roaming the Hoffs’ residence, along with twenty-four additional dogs and seven birds in cages.

An autopsy later confirmed that LaVonne’s death was a result of injuries sustained during a dog attack. Before her death, Jessica had left her mother alone at their home to run errands approximately 25 miles away in Pueblo, leaving the dogs unrestrained, which ultimately led to the attack on her mother.

Investigators also searched a second property owned by Jessica in Colorado City and discovered an additional 54 dogs as well as seven more birds, all living in unsanitary conditions and with several dogs in poor health. Deputies collaborated with local animal control officers to confiscate the animals.

Jessica was charged with criminal negligence leading to the death of an at-risk adult (her mother) and 54 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. As of Monday, she remains in custody at the Pueblo County Jail, held on a $50,000 bail.

Under Colorado law, criminal negligence resulting in the death of an at-risk individual can lead to a sentence ranging from two to six years in prison. Agravated cruelty to animals carries a penalty of one to eighteen months in prison.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/24/colorado-woman-charged-mother-mauled-dogs