NEED TO KNOW
- An Ohio mother has learned her fate after leaving her baby unsupervised with her boyfriend’s “aggressive” pitbull, who then mauled the baby to death
- Alyssa Smith was handed down the maximum sentence of three years in prison for the April 2024 death of 6-month-old Royal Bates
- Smith’s boyfriend and father of her baby is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter
An Ohio mother has learned her fate after her baby was left unsupervised and then mauled to death by her boyfriend’s pit bull.
Alyssa Smith was sentenced to the maximum of three years in prison following her conviction on a third-degree felony child endangerment charge, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced on Friday, Oct. 17.
Prosecutors said in a statement that Smith left the couple’s 6-month-old baby home alone in Marion, Ohio, with another child and the “aggressive” pit bull nearby, “allowing the dog to attack the infant,” on April 28, 2024.
“The dog essentially crushed the child’s skull,” prosecutor Ray Grogan previously told PEOPLE. “And as a result of that, the child’s brain was severely damaged.”
The baby boy, identified as Royal Bates, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Additionally, the dog was seized and euthanized the next day, prosecutors said.
Grogan said Smith’s sentence “holds a mother accountable for failing her infant in the most tragic way. Smith’s actions in ignoring the dog’s history showed a pattern of irresponsibility that cost baby Royal his life.”
Earlier this month, Smith’s boyfriend and the baby’s father, Blake Bates, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with Royal’s death, PEOPLE previously reported. He’s expected to be sentenced on Oct. 27.
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“Bates knew his pit bull was dangerous, yet he gambled with this baby’s safety – recklessness that demands severe consequences,” Grogan said in a previous press release announcing Bates’ guilty plea.
In his obituary, Royal was remembered as a baby who “always woke up with a smile” and loved his round mirror toy.
