Kingsford Heights, Indiana – A mother has been sentenced to nearly 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to neglect and abuse charges in connection to the death of her 4-year-old son, Judah Morgan. The tragic incident occurred in October 2021, in the family’s home near Kingsford Heights, a small town in Union Township, south of Lake Michigan and about 30 miles southwest of South Bend.
Mary Yoder, the 28-year-old mother, also admitted to a separate felony domestic battery charge for beating her youngest child when he was 23 months old. Judge Thomas Alevizos sentenced her to 42 years in prison for the attacks on her children, a combined 37 years for the neglect charge on Judah and 5 years for the battery charge on her other son.
The abuse and killing took place in the family’s home, where authorities said Yoder did nothing to stop the ongoing torture and abuse Judah received by his father, 30-year-old Alan Morgan. Morgan, who is serving a 70-year prison sentence for his son’s murder and other charges, pleaded guilty to charges, including murder and battery in the boy’s death, and was sentenced on Nov. 29, according to the Indiana Department of Corrections.
According to court records, Judah was found naked and covered in a blanket with bruises all over his body and on his face and head. An autopsy conducted the next day found the boy died as a result of a homicide. Court records obtained by the outlet show Judah was duct-taped in a basement and ultimately starved. Yoder told investigators the boy was sent to the basement about three times a week as punishment, “for not being potty-trained like his other three siblings in the house.”
The victim spent the first four years of his life with his foster parents until the Indiana Department of Child Services gave custody back to his parents, leading to tragic consequences. “Ultimately, there is no real justice for Judah, but we pray for some sense of it,” the outlet reported Jenna Hullett, the boy’s former foster mother, said during Friday’s court hearing. “The only solace we have is knowing that Judah is no longer suffering.”