In a move that appeared to surprise the judge, an Indiana woman has opted to go to trial rather than plead guilty as expected for her alleged role in the 2021 torture death of her 4-year-old son.
LaPorte County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Alevizos told attorneys at the status hearing Friday that he thought a plea agreement would be entered on behalf of 27-year-old Mary Yoder.
Instead, Alevizos set a trial for Septempber 25 upon the request from what appeared to be a new defense attorney in the case. The name of the attorney was not immediately available Friday morning.
The move toward trial also surprised Knox resident Jenna Hullett, a second cousin to Judah Morgan, who raised the boy for the first several years of his life until the Indiana Department of Child Services ordered him placed with Yoder and the child’s father, Alan Morgan. The boy’s body was found six months later.
Hullett, who again wore a “Judah’s Army” T-shirt, said she wanted to see a guilty plea in the case to bring some resolution, but she is now hoping that Yoder spends more time behind bars if she is convicted by a jury.
Judah’s badly battered and starved body was discovered Oct. 11, 2021, at his parents’ home in Hamlet. Officials said the boy had been bound with duct tape, confined in a dark basement for days at a time, beaten and starved.
Yoder is charged with Level 1 felony neglect of a dependent resulting in death, Level 5 neglect of a dependent involving cruel confinement, Level 5 felony domestic battery and two counts of Level 6 felony neglect of a dependent, court records show. She also faces misdemeanor counts of cruelty to an animal and failure to make a report.
Alan Morgan pleaded guilty to murdering the boy and was sentenced by Alevizos in November to 70 years behind bars. He recently announced his intention to appeal the sentence.
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