Dementia Patient Mauled to Death by Dozens of Malnourished Dogs in Her Home: Police

A Colorado woman has been arrested on felony charges after her elderly mother, who suffered from dementia, was fatally attacked by dozens of dogs inside their unsanitary home, authorities said.

Jessica Hoff, 47, was taken into custody on Friday and faces charges of criminal negligence resulting in the death of an at-risk adult and 54 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office. She is currently being held in the Pueblo County Jail, 9News reported.

Deputies responded to reports of an unconscious woman at a home in Colorado City on February 3. LaVonne Hoff, 76, was unresponsive in the home, where authorities also encountered several loose dogs, and roughly two dozen caged dogs. The sheriff's office later confirmed that Hoff had died from injuries sustained in a dog attack.

The fatal mauling occurred when Jessica Hoff left her mother—who required 24-hour care—alone in the home while she ran errands in Pueblo, according to investigators.

Authorities executed search warrants at Hoff's residence and a second property she owned in Colorado City, uncovering a total of 54 dogs and seven birds—many of them malnourished and living in filthy, inhumane conditions.

The sheriff's office is coordinating with animal control to seize the animals.