A Colorado woman is behind bars after her elderly mother was found mauled to death inside a home filled with dozens of neglected dogs.
Jessica Hoff, 47, was arrested on Friday (March 21) by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office -- more than a month after the horrifying discovery of her 76-year-old mother, LaVonne Hoff, inside their Colorado City home.
Authorities were called to a home on Jefferson Boulevard in Pueblo County on February 3 following a report of an unconscious woman. When they arrived, they found LaVonne’s lifeless body surrounded by several loose dogs, with dozens more roaming the house.
“Sheriff’s detectives conducted an extensive investigation and learned that Jessica Hoff had left her mother at home alone with her dogs that day while she went to Pueblo to run errands,” PCSO officials said in a press release.
“LaVonne Hoff reportedly had dementia and required 24-hour care. Detectives learned that while LaVonne Hoff was left alone, she was attacked by the dogs that were loose in the home," police said.
Medical personnel pronounced LaVonne was pronounced dead at the scene, and an autopsy later confirmed that she died from injuries sustained in a dog attack, per the sheriff’s office.
Deputies also searched a second property owned by Hoff in Colorado City, where they found additional caged dogs and birds. Altogether, she was keeping 54 dogs and seven birds.
The animals were reportedly living in unsanitary conditions and several of the dogs were ill, according to law enforcement.
"The Sheriff’s Office worked with Animal Law Enforcement to seize the dogs and the birds," police officials noted.
The sheriff's office disclosed that Hoff was taken into custody and booked into the Pueblo County Jail.
She now faces several charges, including criminal negligence resulting in the death of an at-risk adult, along with 54 counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, one for each dog found in her care.
Although authorities have not yet confirmed the breeds of the dogs that killed LaVonne, national data shows Pitbulls are responsible for the most fatal dog attacks in the US, accounting for 284 deaths - roughly 65.6% of all dog bite fatalities.
Rottweilers follow as the second deadliest breed, linked to 10.4% of those incidents.
Per court records obtained by PEOPLE, the younger Hoff's bond was set at $50,000 and is next due in court on March 27.