MADISON COUNTY, Ind.– An Anderson woman will spend decades behind bars in connection with the 2018 death of her 18-month-old son.
Jennifer Harris was sentenced to 40 years on Tuesday after she was found guilty last month of neglect of a dependent resulting in death. The full sentence is to be executed in jail.
In July of 2019, Harris’ then-boyfriend Dylan Tate was sentenced to life without parole plus 50 years after being found guilty of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, molestation, operating a vehicle with a BAC greater than .15 with a passenger and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
FOX59 previously reported the toddler died back in February 2018 after Tate reportedly crashed his car with Harlan Haines inside on the way to the hospital. They eventually made it to Community Hospital.
According to medical professionals at the hospital, Harlan was in respiratory arrest, his pupils were dilated, he had extensive bruising on his body, and went into cardiac arrest. A partial napkin or paper towel was found in his airway. Doctors told police the injuries weren’t consistent with a motor vehicle accident.
There, staff discovered the following injuries: pulmonary contusions, extensive bruising along entire body, anoxic brain injury, intracranial hemorrhaging, multiple soft tissue injuries to head and face, subgleal hematoma, possible bite marks on left arm and left leg, rectal bleeding with a possible tear, bruising on scrotum and genitals, bruising on both feet, abdominal bruising, punctate lesions on torso, upper abdomen and mid upper back, and bruising around his mouth and ears.
Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said the boy “went through hell and died.”
“What happened to that child is horrific, and unimaginable,” he said. “It’s chilling to think what that poor child went through.”
The Department of Child Services had investigated reported abuse involving Harlan in December 2017 but closed the case a few weeks later, saying injuries he’d suffered in that incident were “concerning…but not definitive.”
In the 2017 case, he suffered bruising and a fractured leg. His mother, Jennifer Harris, said a Christmas tree had fallen on him. Hospital staff contacted DCS because they had doubts about the validity of her explanation.
He was next in the hospital in February, when he died from injuries inflicted on his body.
