Mom charged in death of toddler killed by family dog
Melissa Miller’s son wandered off into his backyard and was mauled to death by the family’s pit bull. Now, the Texas mom being charged in the boy’s death. A grand jury on Wednesday returned an indictment that would charge Miller, 24, of criminally negligent homicide and injury to a child, both felonies.
Miller’s attorney said the charges were unfair to the “young, caring mother.” “It is unfortunate that the district attorney would not recognize that sometimes horrible accidents happen without there necessarily having been a crime committed,” attorney Matt Jones told the Austin American-Statesman.
According to Jones, the toddler was in his bed on March 26 when Miller woke up to help her 6-year-old daughter get ready for school. Miller apparently went back to bed afterwards. When she woke up at noon, she couldn’t find the boy and began searching for him.
Tyson’s body was found in the backyard around 12:30 p.m., where the family dog was chained. The 28-month-old child had suffered severe head and neck bites. The dog has since been euthanized.
