Paitlyn Grove: Mother charged with three-month-old’s death after she was mauled by pitbull
She heard her baby crying and her dog barking. Then she found her baby dead.
A mother is being accused of failing to prevent the brutal death of her three-month-old daughter after it was revealed the infant was mauled by a pitbull while taking a nap in her parents’ bed.
Paitlyn Grove, 25, has been charged with reckless homicide following the death of her daughter Zaelynn Grove at the family’s home in Brownstown, Indiana.
On April 3, 2025, Zaelynn was fatally mauled by one of the two pitbulls owned by the man living in the basement of the home, according to a copy of the affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
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When Ms Grove walked into the bedroom, she found her daughter dead. She briefly called her husband, Zaelynn’s father, and then called emergency services, the affidavit states.
Detective Clint Burcham of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office wrote in the affidavit that Ms Grove was asked if the dog who attacked her daughter “had ever attempted to pick up the infant” to which she replied that the dog had once taken a blanket off Zaelynn while she sat in her car seat.
Mr Burcham also wrote that he found “a large amount of blood on the bed” where the infant was sleeping, and a gate that was “not blocking the door at the time of the incident.” He added that the gate was not one that could be secured to the door or doorframe.
The actual door to the bedroom did not have a doorknob, Mr Burcham wrote, “making it so the door could not latch.”
The wooden shutter that was used to keep the two dogs in the basement was purportedly not being used at the time either, but Mr Burcham said that even if both were being used, “neither gate had the option to be a secured gate and the dogs could have moved them if they would have attempted to.”
According to the affidavit, during the 911 call the dog’s owner Todd Banks could be heard saying that “he knew she would do it” — a comment that Mr Burcham believes is in reference to the dog killing Zaelynn.
Ms Grove was charged with reckless homicide on May 8 and is facing up to six years in prison if convicted. Mr Todd was indicted on the same charge on May 7.
The dog responsible for the attack was euthanised, while the other pitbull was returned to Mr Todd.
