Police: Puppy Was Not Fed Before Infant Attack

By Chris Wright, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- We are learning more about the mother of a baby that was eaten by a puppy.  Prosecutors charged 18-year-old Linzy Earles with second-degree manslaughter.  Her two-month-old son was eaten alive by the family's puppy in July.

Because the incident happened when Earles was 17, she was charged as a juvenile.  Recently released reports say it was not her first run-in with the law, and she even admitted to doing drugs the night after the attack.

It was a grisly scene in south Tulsa this summer.  A small puppy was removed from a home after police say it killed two-month-old Zane Earles.

Investigators say the child was attacked after he was left in an infant swing while his mother and grandmother slept at the other side of the house. 

The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office has now decided that Linzy Earles was negligent, and she has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Police reports say the puppy, a lab-boxer mix named Cush and that he actually belonged to Earle's sister.  She lived in the house, but the family told officers that she had not been home for several days.  

Tulsa Police say nobody knew when the puppy was fed last.  The report says everyone thought that someone else had taken care of the puppy's feeding.

At the time of the attack, Linzy Earles was already in trouble with police.  Her juvenile probation officer says she was on probation for unlawful thievery of a controlled substance.

Earles admitted to police that she had a drug problem in the past, and the day after the attack said, "I smoked a bowl of marijuana last night.'

The DA's office says all those factors led to the charges, and its belief that Earles should be held accountable for her child's death.

Earles also told police that she had been up until 4 o'clock in the morning with her baby, and did not hear the child scream when he was attacked by the dog.

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11/04/2008  Teen Mother Charged In Baby's Death