Grandmother, boyfriend charged in dog mauling of baby

Patricia Luddecke Patricia Luddecke Photo: HPD Photo: HPD Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Grandmother, boyfriend charged in dog mauling of baby 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A grandmother and her boyfriend face felony charges after their dog mauled her year-old granddaughter last month, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Patricia Palmer Luddecke, 54, and Larry Martinez, 50, are each charged with endangering a child in connection with the Oct. 8 incident, court records show. A judge has set a $2,000 bond for each suspect.

The baby's mother told police that she left the baby with Luddecke and her boyfriend at their northwest Houston home, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday. The couple agreed to baby-sit the child.

The mother received a phone call from Luddecke, who informed her that the baby was being taken to the hospital because she fell off the bed, the complaint states.

Doctors at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center treated the child for a large gash extending from the right corner of her mouth, over the bridge of her nose, to the edge of her left eye, investigators said. The injury was so severe that the baby "would sustain permanent injury and scarring on her face," a physician at the hospital told police.

The grandmother and her boyfriend offered a different version of events two days later, when questioned by Houston police.

"They both stated that the dog was on the floor by the bed and the complainant (baby) was trying to climb up onto the bed," the complaint states. "They told (police) that the (baby) fell onto the dog and the dog bit the complainant."

The child's mother told investigators that Luddecke did not mention a dog bite when she called to say the child had been taken to the hospital.

Police reviewed an audiotape of the 911 call placed by Martinez, and heard Luddecke in the background.

"Both seemed to have slurred speech and be intoxicated at the time the complainant was injured," the criminal complaint states.

Luddecke told investigators that the same dog bit the child about a month ago when she tried to play with it, according to the complaint.

A Houston police officer who saw the dog in person "noticed that he was visibly aggressive and snarling when the officer approached," investigators said.

Prosecutors said the couple failed to properly supervise the baby "around a dog with a history of biting a causing injury" to the infant.