Mother, grandparents of mauled boy indicted on charges of abuse and dangerous dogs. Here's what we know

LAS CRUCES -- A grand jury indicted the mother and grandparents of a boy fatally mauled by dogs being fostered by his grandparents.

Danika Jackson, 33, and Kevin Owens, 61, were indicted with reckless child abuse resulting in death on Aug. 1. Kevin Owens was also indicted with dangerous dogs resulting in death, as was his wife, 63-year-old Leslie Owens.

Jackson’s son, 6-year-old Avery Jackson-Dunphy, was mauled to death outside his grandparents' house on Nov. 22, 2021.

According to a police report obtained via a public records request, the boy and his grandfather were playing outside at the Owens' Mesilla Park home last November when the grandfather stepped away. After the incident, the grandfather told police that workers fixing his house had called him away.

Ten minutes later, Jackson and the boy’s grandmother called the grandfather back outside when they discovered that Avery had wandered into a cage housing fostered dogs.

Jimmie Snow, a Doña Ana County Animal Control Officer, said in a police report that the cage contained six dogs, some were of shepherd-mix breed, and others were of border collie-mix breed. Animal Control killed all six dogs on Nov. 22, the report stated.

Avery suffered severe wounds from the dogs, including cuts on his neck and chest. After being transported to an El Paso hospital, the boy succumbed to his injuries.

More:Community honors what would have been Avery Jackson-Dunphy's seventh birthday

Shortly after the incident, Jackson and the boy’s father, Patrick Dunphy, began feuding in court. Each parent filed a petition arguing why they believed they should be appointed the representative of their son’s estate and entitled to sue for damages in their son's death.

Court records show that that matter has yet to be resolved. It’s unclear how or if the indictment of criminal charges could affect the civil cases.

It’s also unclear if any new information led to the indictment.

Last year, when Avery's death was announced, Doña Ana County Sheriff Kim Stewart said deputies would not be filing charges. On Monday, 3rd Judicial District Attorney Gerald Byers aimed at Stewart in a news release announcing the indictment.

“The District Attorney’s Office was not notified of the incident by the Sheriff’s office and learned of the child’s death through media reports,” Byers stated in the news release. “As the chief law officer of the state in Doña Ana County, I have the authority to advise on matters in the public interest and bring criminal charges, especially when it involves a death investigation.”

Byers recently took Stewart to court in an unrelated matter. He accused DASO and the sheriff of rejecting her duty to deliver subpoenas. Stewart said that DASO was under no obligation to deliver the subpoenas. A judge sided with Byers.

The Owenses and Jackson were scheduled for appearances in court later in August.

This is a developing story.

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Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Mother, grandparents of boy mauled by dogs indicted