Laci Rae Harper

A home video showing two starving puppies launched a criminal investigation that wrapped today with the sentencing of the woman who admitted to the crime.

Laci Harper, 27, of Burket, initially denied starving her two German Shepherd puppies insisting the dogs were being cared for. Instead, she told StaceyPageOnline.com in September 2013 that the puppies had parvo (see related) and the lack of food and water in their bowls were likely the result of kids playing in the neighborhood.

A necropsy performed on one of the puppies that died, however, proved the death was the result of starvation. (See related)

Harper, who also goes by the name Laci Bailey, was initially charged with two Class A misdemeanor charges of cruelty to an animal. Just days before she was set to go to trial, the Kosciusko County Prosecutor’s Office added a Class D felony charge of cruelty to an animal. Harper initially refused to accept an earlier plea.

On April 22, Harper appeared before Superior Court II Judge James Jarrette to accept the latest plea and avoid a jury trial. The plea offered by the prosecutor’s office was to dismiss the two Class A misdemeanor charges and be found guilty of the Class D felony.

At sentencing today, Judge Jarrette accepted the plea and ordered her penalties as follows:

• Pay court costs of $268
• Pay restitution to the Animal Welfare League in the sum of $30 and to Michael Wilson in the sum of $399.69
• Pay probation user fees in the amount of $100 plus $25 for each month she remains on probation
• Two years in the Indiana Department of Corrections suspended, Harper to serve 2 years on formal probation
• Harper must not possess any animals for a 2 year period and must relinquish ownership of the dog to Wilson, who has had the dog since it was seized by the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department in September 2013
• Harper must undergo a mental health assessment at The Bowen Center and undergo any mental health treatments the center deems necessary

Judge Jarrette told Harper, “I would absolutely encourage you to comply with the rules of your probation, the major rule being you are not to own or possess any kind of an animal, any kind of an animal, for the next two years.”

Any violation of her probationary terms could result in the court revoking the suspended IDOC sentence. Further, the judge said, “It’s your obligation to make an appointment at the Bowen Center, the court is not obligated to do that, the responsibility is on you.”

Harper had nothing to say during the sentencing, but afterward her mother, Tina Bailey, told StaceyPageOnline.com that she regretted her daughter’s actions. “I don’t know what happened, but I wish I could go back and change it,” she said. Bailey added that her daughter is struggling with what happened, is remorseful and is trying to rebuild her life. “Please help her do that,” she concluded.