Overview

• Blake Bates pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Oct. 2 in Marion County after his six-month-old son was killed by the family dog.
• The attack occurred on April 28, 2024 at the family’s home in Marion, Ohio, and the baby was pronounced dead at Marion General Hospital.
• Prosecutors say the pit bull mix, Kilo, had previously tried to bite a neighborhood child and Bates had been warned about the dog a year earlier.
• Prosecutors say Bates and partner Alyssa Smith allowed the dog near the infant unsupervised with another young child, and officers later seized and euthanized the animal.
• Bates faces up to three years in prison and sentencing on Oct. 27, while Smith has pleaded guilty to child endangering and awaits sentencing; additional charges against Bates, including felony strangulation and an escape attempt, will be addressed.