Jury acquits Las Cruces mother in dog mauling death of 6-year-old

A jury found Danika Jackson not guilty on Wednesday of one count of felony abandonment of a child resulting in death after a fatal dog mauling claimed the life of her six-year-old son in 2021.

Jackson faced a maximum prison sentence of 15 years following the death of Avery Jackson-Dunphy, who was killed by his grandparents’ dogs on Nov. 22, 2021.

Wednesday's verdict came after about three hours of jury deliberation ― one hour on Tuesday and two hours on Wednesday morning. It ended the second of three jury trials related to Avery's death. His grandmother, Leslie Owens, was acquitted in Dec. 2023 of a third-degree felony regarding possessing dangerous dogs after 3rd Judicial District Judge Douglas Driggers delivered a directed verdict.

Avery's grandfather, Kevin Owens, will face a jury over a five-day trial starting on April 15, 2024. He is also charged with reckless abuse of a child alongside the same dangerous dog statute that Leslie Owens faced. Instead of Driggers, 3rd Judicial District's Richard Jacquez is listed as the trial judge.

"I’ll be sorry every day of my life"

A directed verdict comes when a judge feels prosecutors have not sufficiently proven the criminal charges are warranted. It typically occurs after a defense attorney requests one, which happens in almost every trial.

Following two days of testimony, Driggers denied two requests for a directed verdict by defense attorney Robert Cooper ― once after the prosecution rested on Tuesday and a second time after Cooper called Jackson to the stand as the only witness in her defense.

Cooper argued that prosecutors did not prove Jackson left Avery under circumstances that could expose him to risk of harm, nor that a failure to provide proper parental care and control necessary for Avery’s well being resulted in death, per the state statute.

This time, however, Driggers determined the case would be sent to the jury.

Jackson, who moved to Hobbs in 2020, but was visiting her parents in Mesilla Park when Avery was killed, testified on Tuesday, as well as Avery's father, Patrick Dunphy.

Two versions emerged related to how Avery, described as an adventurous boy, found his way into the area of the property where several dogs were kept. Dumphy testified that Jackson had told him she let him in the area, where he could see a litter of puppies while Jackson testified that she left him in the front yard of the property, playing in a sand pile, away from the dogs and other animals on the property.

Jackson testified that when she went into her parent's house to print some documents for work, she left Avery playing in a sand pile in the front yard of the property. Jackson testified that Avery knew how to open gates to the different parts of the property, as well as climb fences. When she came back outside, Avery was not where she left him and found Avery after members of her family screamed to call for help from the back yard.

“I’ll be sorry every day of my life,” Jackson said. “I will question everything the rest of my life. I wish it would have never happened.

“I left him someplace he has been for years. The dogs were in the yard. The (horses) were in their pasture. Nothing felt or seemed dangerous.”

During closing arguments, Cooper told the jury Jackson was inside for 10 minutes. In addition to questioning parts of Dunphy’s testimony, Cooper argued that Jackson did not leave Avery at risk and that only an intervening act of Avery leaving the front yard to enter the backyard exposed him to danger.

"At the time she walked away, at that very minute, circumstances did not expose Avery to risk or harm," Cooper told the jury.

According to a police report, Kevin Owens, 62, told deputies that he was called away by a construction crew working on his house. Ten minutes later, the boy’s mother and the grandmother called Owens back outside. The boy had gotten into a cage housing six dogs. Doña Ana County Sheriffs deputies testified that Avery was cold and pale and they could not locate a pulse when they arrived on scene.

El Paso County Medical Examiner Mario Rascon testified that the cause of death was multiple dog bite injuries in the neck area and that the death was accidental.

Prosecutor David McCardle argued that Jackson left Avery in the sand pile knowing that he was capable of climbing fences and opening gates on the property.

"Children are children, they are not at the age of maturity, they cannot be responsible for themselves," District Attorney Gerald Byers said Wednesday.

"It is our joint responsibility to ensure the safety, security and longevity of children entrusted to our care. That is the essence of what that case was about."

Avery's father, district attorney, react to verdict

Following Wednesday's verdict, Byers and Dunphy held an impromptu press conference in the District Attorney's office.

"We were in contact with the sheriff's department," Byers said. "We did reach out to them. The sheriff's department did provide a detective and did the best they could with what they had. They have been working with us every stage along the way to try to pursue justice for Avery."

Dunphy said Driggers withheld evidence from the trial, including graphic photos of Avery following the attack, testimony from a parenting coordinator familiar with the case, and additional instances of neglect that resulted in injuries. Dunphy makes many of the same allegations in a civil lawsuit filed in Las Cruces court that names the City of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, the grandparents, and the mother as defendants.

"I would like to thank the jury for considering the evidence, albeit a sliver of the evidence of Avery's entire life," Dunphy said. "Judge Driggers did not allow a significant amount of evidence into the trial. The pattern of practice of Danika continuing to leave Avery unsupervised resulting in multiple serious injuries."

The lawsuit states that Jackson told Dunphy that Avery fell off a fence and injured his head when, in fact, a horse kicked Avery. After that injury, the lawsuit says a court temporarily suspended Jackson's parenting. Jackson agreed to a safety plan. The lawsuit also claims that Avery’s foot was crushed by a bull at his grandfather’s house and that he later fell from a high playground structure, knocking out some of his teeth while in Jackson’s care.

"If the jury knew any of the prior events, I'm sure we would have a different outcome today," Dunphy said.

When asked if the directed verdict in favor of the grandmother and Wednesday's verdict gave cause for concern regarding Kevin Owens's trial next month in district court, Byers said, "Every jury is different, every trial is different. Even though you have a similar fact pattern, the involvement of different individuals, different defendants, it varies.

"We charged forward with what we had because Avery had been killed. That matters to everybody in my office."

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Las Cruces mother acquitted in 2021 dog mauling death of 6-year-old