It took about two seconds for LaPorte County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Alevizos to reject the request for work-release on Friday's status hearing for Mary Yoder.
Yoder is the mother charged in the torture death of 4-year-old Judah Morgan.
Judah's body was found in a rural home outside of Hamlet on October 11, 2021, after months of torture. His death had been ruled a homicide.
During the hearing, the judge did grant a delay until March 10, while the prosecution and defense in the case continue negotiating a potential agreement to avoid a trial.
In November, the toddler's father, Alan Morgan, had pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Morgan has since announced his intention of appealing the sentence.
Attending nearly every court date since the murder, Jenna Hullett, the woman who raised the toddler for the first three years of his life, also attended Friday's hearing. Judah had been placed with Yoder and Morgan by the Indiana Department of Child Services in April of 2021.It would be only six months later that Judah's body would be found by officials. Hullett said she's just ready for Yoder's sentencing and for it all to be over.
Looking for justice for Judah in more ways than one, Hullett has since become an activist for child abuse. In frequent contact with lawmakers, Hullett's multiple trips to the statehouse since Judah's death, has been making a difference. In July of 2022, Senate Bill 410, also known as Judah's Law, was passed, giving kinship caregivers like Hullett family, the right to intervene “at any stage” of a TPR case, even if they are not licensed foster parents.
Hullett had recently testified about her relationship with Judah at the state hourse on February 1 for proposed House Bill 1188. The proposed bill would require a child's guardians to complete court appointed treatment and rehabilitation in a timely, consistent manner. It would also give children more say with who they want to live with, something Hullett said, could have helped saved little Judah.
More information about House Bill 1188 can be found here.
