Indiana mom sentenced for role in torture and abuse death of her young son

LAPORTE, Ind. (TCD) -- A judge sentenced a 27-year-old mother to over four decades in prison for playing a role in her 4-year-old son's torture and abuse-related death.

The Times of Northwest Indiana reports Mary Yoder was ordered to spend 42 years behind bars after she pleaded guilty over the summer to neglect of a dependent resulting in death for the death of her son, Judah Morgan, and domestic battery of a different child in the home.

LaPorte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan reportedly said at the sentencing hearing on Jan. 5 that Yoder "was given the great gift" of as the mother of a "young, vivacious Judah. And she squandered it."  Judah Morgan's father, Alan Morgan, was sentenced to 70 years in prison in November 2022 following his guilty plea of first-degree murder and battery on a child.

On Oct. 11, 2021, at 2:45 a.m., LaPorte County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to Yoder and Morgan's home after receiving a call about an unconscious child. When they arrived, they found Judah Morgan unresponsive. He was declared dead at the scene.

According to WTHR-TV, Yoder's home was covered in trash and fecal matter. She and Alan Morgan reportedly kept Judah Morgan in the basement for hours or days at a time and tied his hands and ankles with duct tape because he was not potty trained.

The couple repeatedly abused Judah and beat him until he died.

Morgan's cousin raised him as her foster child, but he was put back in his parents' custody six months before he was killed, according to the Times of Northwest Indiana.

MORE:

• Region mom sentenced in torture death of her 4-year-old son - The Times of Northwest Indiana
• Indiana mother sentenced to 42 years in connection with 4-year-old's torture death - WTHR
• Indiana dad gets 70 years for torturing and beating 4-year-old son to death over potty training, 11/30/2022 - TCD
• Indiana parents arrested after 4-year-old son found naked, dead under a blanket, 10/14/2021 - TCD