Dog groomer pleads to manslaughter in boyfriend shooting
Published 6:30 am Friday, September 1, 2017
- Dawn Child
A Limestone County woman who fatally shot her boyfriend because he took the harness off of a dog in her care in 2015 has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and has been sentenced to serve five years in prison and five months on probation, records show.
Dawn Doreen Child, 49, of 24158 Upper Fort Hampton Road, Elkmont, entered the plea Aug. 22, according to court records. She had been charged with murder in the shooting of Gary Leon Cox, 53, at her home on Feb. 21, 2015. She was scheduled to enter a plea Aug. 31 or face trial on the murder charge.
In accordance with Child’s plea agreement with the Limestone County District Attorney’s Office, Judge Chadwick Wise sentenced her to 240 months in state prison. As per the agreement, Wise suspended 180 months, leaving Child 60 months, or five years, to serve in prison. She was also ordered to serve five years on probation. If she violates her probation she could be ordered to serve the suspended sentence.
District Attorney Brian Jones said Thursday his office is “pleased with the outcome in the Child case.”
Child was represented by appointed attorneys Jim Moffat and Kristi Valls, according to court records.
The case
Child who had a dog-grooming and pet-sitting business, allegedly became angry with Cox because he disobeyed her directives to leave a harness on a dog, Limestone County Chief Investigator Stanley McNatt said at the time of the shooting. When the argument between the couple escalated, Child left the room. Cox followed her, and they began shoving one another. Child retrieved her handgun and shot Cox three times, McNatt said.
When authorities arrived, Child had left the scene and was later found in the Tanner community. During her interview, Child confessed to shooting Cox inside her home. She told investigators she and Cox had an altercation that ended in her shooting him.
She had been free on $50,000 bond pending her trial. However, the court revoked her bond July 17 after she was charged with theft and returned to the Limestone County Jail. The court declined to reset bail.
