The biological mother of Judah Morgan, the four-year-old LaPorte County boy who was found dead inside a rural Hamlet home back in October 2021, has pleaded guilty in connection with the child's brutal murder.
Mary Yoder, 27, had been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and neglect of a dependent, as well as failing to report possible neglect or abuse.
On Friday, Yoder entered a guilty plea in LaPorte County Circuit Court, shaking and breathing heavily as she answered questions about her role in the 2021 torture death of her son.
Yoder told the courts she knew Alan Morgan, Judah's father, was hitting the boy. She also acknowledged he was often kept alone in a dark, unfinished basement while the rest of the family left, and was often denied food. Yoder admitted the abuse ultimately resulted in the boy's death.
A plea for the case had been expected back in March. Yoder, however, appeared to surprise the judge at that time when she opted at that time to go to trial. A September 25 trial had been scheduled, but was canceled on Friday as a result of Yoder's plea.
Yoder's guilty plea included felony counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in Judah's death, and domestic battery, which applied to Yoder kicking Judah's younger sibling in the home while being recorded on video.
Yoder is facing up to 40 years behind bars on the first criminal count, and up to six years for the second.
LaPorte County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Alevizos took the proposed plea agreement under consideration. A hearing is set for November 1.
Alan Morgan, Judah's father, pleaded guilty to murdering his son last November. He was sentenced to 70 years in prison.
Judah's second cousin, Jenna Hullett, who raised the boy for the first three years of his life, has attended each court session since the case began in 2021.
The boy was supposed to have been on a six month home trial with his biological parents under the Indiana Department of Child Services when the murder occured. The boy had never lived with Morgan and Yoder prior to the six month home trial, which began April 7, 2021.
A civil lawsuit targeting Alan Morgan has been launched, accusing DCS of placing the child in harms way. Hullett said the parents had a history of abuse, but Indiana DCS decided to close the case anyway, despite Judah being in the agency's care since birth.
